An Update and a Can You Believe This Moment

The Update:  I've said it before and I'll say it again I LOVE BEING A MOM, but sometimes it is so hard.

I have been here in Utah for 3 weeks--Heidi has been in the hospital for all but 3 of those days. I arrived on the evening of the 29th. She went in on the 31st. I took her home on the 13th and she was back in on the 15th.

This last admittance was entirely unrelated to the other surgeries and involved a female problem--that required another surgery, but thankfully didn't require a removal of anything!!! As I was with her the night before her surgery, my heart just broke as she said, "Mom, I just can't do this again." She has tried to maintain such a positive attitude, but there is a point when your body just can't keep doing it. As I was patting her face with cool water, it took everything I had not to sit there and burst into tears. I love this little girl so much and hate watching her in pain--and honestly, of these five surgeries she has had in, this last hospitalization she was in more pain than in any other. I'm hoping she recovers quickly and regains her strength.

I have changed my ticket to go home again and will not be leaving until the end of the month.

Heidi does a great job with her hair--a gift she did not inherit from her mother ; )  On Friday she wanted me to do a french braid.  I haven't done one for years, so thank goodness for a google tutorial--I redid it yesterday and was happy it turned out better than my first attempt.

Now for my Can you Believe This--Heidi loves rice cakes and asked me to get some for her.  You may be wondering what that is she is putting in her mouth--well, that was the extra surprise that was in the bag.

We couldn't believe what she found in the bag.

WOW!!!

I have been busy working on a baby blanket--it has been good therapy ; )  It is white with subtle colors.

Sidenote:  I may have been away from my sweetheart for Valentine's Day, but he made sure I knew he was thinking of me.  He knew I would be mad if he ordered flowers from a florist--Valentine's Day is such a rip-off--so he sent Brent to buy me roses.  They were beautiful and very much appreciated.

What is Love

So, I haven't been able to keep up with these--too much going on.

I like this quote from President Ezra Taft Benson:  “The world today speaks a great deal about love, and it is sought for by many,” he said. “But the pure love of Christ differs greatly from what the world thinks of love. Charity never seeks selfish gratification. The pure love of Christ seeks only the eternal growth and joy of others.” (Ensign, Nov. 1986, p. 47.)

Over these past few days I have felt this love--charity from so many different sources, and I am so grateful for that love that has been giving in such great abundance.  It has made watching and aching because of all that Heidi has been going through a little easier to deal with.  Last Tuesday when she had surgery was a pretty horrific day.  I know the Lord heard our prayers, and I am so grateful that her doctor was able to fix the problem in time.

When I went up to the hospital yesterday she was in a significant amount of pain and I felt so bad.  I am very happy that she seemed a little better last night.

So thank you so very much to those who have sent e-mails, texts, and expressed love and concern here on the blog.  As well, thank you to those who have been here to give me hugs.  I pass all the messages on to Heidi and she always says, "everyone is too kind".  So please know how much your love and kindness means.

Today I am so very grateful for prayer and the pure love of Christ.

What is Love: Valentine Post #9

How could I ever do a post about LOVE without including these guys:  Some of the cutest grandchildren ever.  I love being a grandma--and I love these kids.  I realize my Pride and Joy Grandma Posts are not completed--once I get home I will have to get back to doing them.

I wish I could see all of my grandchildren more often.  At the same time I know I am very fortunate that I get to see most of them at least every year.  It would be fun to be closer, but it sure makes those times we are together even more special.

Just last week, I got to have lunch with these two while their mom was in Utah.  I'm so grateful their mom writes about them quite often and post pictures.  Of course it is a real treat whenever we get to iChat--which isn't often enough.

And, I did get to see their older sister and her husband when they stopped in to visit Heidi in the hospital.  (They are back from Switzerland and will be living on the West Coast.)

And then we have G-Man and Little L's big brother--my oldest grandson.   I'm hoping I get a chance to see him and his wife when I go to Texas in August to take care of the two little ones while their folks head off to Europe.  (I'm so excited to get to do that)

And then we have the six who live in California--this was the picture on part of Stephen and Daph's Christmas Card ; )  Totally made me smile.

And finally we have the Indiana gang.  We had a chance to visit them last September and it was so fun.  Can't wait to do it again.

And along with the grandchildren, I have this cute little great grandson.   I'm so excited because this little guy is getting a new brother or sister in May ; )  I think his grandma is pretty happy, too.

I really love being a grandma, but it would be a whole lot more fun if they weren't so far away.  

What is Love: Valentine Post #7

Today, of course, I have to write about a Mother's Love.  It is amazing how great you feel when they first place that baby in your arms and you are flooded with  love.  Now when you're old and very tired when you deliver that baby, you look REALLY BAD, BUT I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER.    I feel the love for the baby IMMEDIATELY--even as early as the first time I find myself worshipping the porcelain bowl and I know I am pregnant ; )

I have said before and I will say it again I LOVE BEING PREGNANT.  As hard as it is on me because I am sick most of the time, it is such a wonderful experience to feel life growing inside of you and the delivery room is one of the most sacred places.)

Being a mom is such an amazing experience.  And honestly, it doesn't matter whether I gave birth to those children are not, when they become my children, I am flooded with that love.

To understand that we are all children of our Heavenly Father makes it even more special.   When my children are struggling with something and I pray, I feel so blessed to know that they are His children and as much as I love them, He loves them even more than I do.  He wants what is best for them, and He KNOWS what is best.  So I pray and LISTEN.  It is comforting for me.

And right now, I am putting my faith and trust in Him.  Heidi has had a bit of a setback, and will be going back into the operating room this morning.

What Is Love: Valentine Post #6

For this post,  I've decided I will write about a young couple who have been such a great example of LOVE.

As you know, I am in Utah because Heidi has just had another surgery.  Having three surgeries in 33 days has been hard on her body.  Her recovery has not been as easy as the other surgeries.  Again, I am so grateful I have been here to support her and Daniel at this time.

I have been privileged to watch the love that has been shown to her by her sweet husband.   It was a big part of why I didn't need to be there when she had her second surgery on January 5th.  I knew he was there to take care of her.  But because he is a student, I felt I wanted to be here to alleviate some of the pressure off of him so he could study.  And, of course, as my sweet little granddaughter, Amanda, said, "even though husbands are great, some times we just need our mom's" ; )  You are so right, Amanda.

The surgery that Heidi has had involves a lot of changes in their lives.  Their positive attitude has continued, and I am amazed at how well they have dealt with it all.  When I first wrote about Heidi's surgery I said that this was multi-stage surgery--so there will still be two more scheduled surgeries involved, but not for several months.  Her body needs a chance to rest.

This little couple began dating in April 2008.  I could tell immediately that Heidi was head over heels in love.

In October, Daniel became Elder F. and left for a two year mission to the Georgia Macon Mission.  And Heidi waited, and thought those two years were going to take forever ; )  He was released and he proposed:

They wasted no time and were married six weeks later:

It was a wonderful day, and it didn't take long before we knew she definitely married into the right family ; )  They are crazy JUST LIKE US.

And, of course, I have to include a couple of beautiful photos taken by Macy.

And we know that although they have this challenge, their love for one another and, of course, their faith, will help them get through this and the will certainly--LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER!!!

I hope by this afternoon, her doctor will have given her the okay to leave the hospital, and I will have taken her back home to their apartment.

What is Love: Valentine Post #5

If you are ever going to post about love, you have to write about the most important LOVE of all--the LOVE of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ for each of us.

I am so grateful that I have a testimony that their love is real.  I am so grateful that I can feel it.

With that being said, let me post here the words to one of my favorites Primary songs:

I feel my Savior's love,
In all the world around me,
His Spirit warms my soul,
Through everything I see.

He knows I will follow Him,
Give all my life to Him.
I feel my Savior's love,
The love He freely gives me.

What a blessing it is to feel that love--I know how very blessed I am to know that I am a daughter of God.

What Is Love: Valentine Post #4

So for my fourth post, I would like to talk about another kind of love--ROMANTIC LOVE.  So obviously this post will be all about this guy.

We have celebrated a few Valentine's Days together, but I have to say we don't go all out on that day.  Frankly, I don't think we need to.  We usually do go to dinner and exchange cards and candy (there MUST be candy--and I always get flowers.  (Of course, since I have gotten to be a little bit tighter with money, I have told Allan to please not order flowers from the florist--they are just TOO EXPENSIVE.  He still brings me flowers but they usually are from the Grocery store or Costco, which is just fine with me ; )

I sure love this man.  This year we won't be together for Valentine's Day.  When I left for Utah, I decided to give him 14 envelopes--one for the first 14 days of February (as well as a card for Valentine's Day and the last few days of January). Each envelope has a note about something I love about him--things like the way he loves the family, the way he supports me in everything I do, his positive attitude, his sense of humor, that he does the grocery shopping, his commitment to the Lord, etc.  And, as I told him, I loved that coming up with a list was so easy because there are so many wonderful things about him that I love.  And I ended with:  "I loved the fact that you asked me to marry you."  I told him I was so glad that when he knew he was to marry me, he didn't shove the thought aside and say, "Oh, my goodness, no way, NOT HER."

We have a great life and I am so blessed that we are on this journey together.   I am so glad he is always there for me to lean on--even when he isn't physically right there.

It is wonderful to be married to your best friend!!!!

What is Love: Valentine Post #3

For this third day of February, I want to post about another aspect of LOVE.  Now this may seem weird, and if you think it is, I'm sorry, but I think it's one of the most important things:

As I think of the scripture, "...Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Matthew 22:39), I often wonder how can we  LOVE others, if we don't  LOVE ourselves?

One of the many things I need to work on is not comparing myself with others.  I do it far too often.  I forget that we all have our strengths--things we do great, and things we may not do so great.  There will be people who do things better than I do, but that doesn't mean what I'm doing isn't good and that I need to feel bad about myself.

I will continue to try to improve, but I won't beat myself up because I'm not where I want to be today.  I will just keep striving each day to be my best me--to BECOME the woman I am meant to be, so that I can be an instrument in God's hands.

And I will LOVE myself along the way.

What is Love: Valentine Post #2

Today I want to mention what for me was one of the BEST EXAMPLES OF LOVE.  It was shown to my sisters and me on February 14, 1965, when we were made official members of Helen and Les's family.

If you know me or have read my blog for any length of time, you know the story.  But to put it in a nutshell, after my mother passed away (about 18 months after my dad had passed away), we didn't have anywhere to live.  Helen had worked with my mother and she and Les felt very bad about what had happened.  They opened their home and took in all six of us, YES, ALL SIX OF US.

The older I get the more amazed I am at what they did.  To take in six girls (and let me add, teenage girls) into your home and support them, love them, and be there for them for years is such an incredible example of love and something you just don't see every day.  Our local newspaper did a story about them a few years after Helen had passed away.  This is a picture of Les with 4 of my sisters.

A few pictures other pictures.  The first one--the day I was married.  Les loved Allan and was so happy when we got married.

This is Jason and Les in 1988

With his "little" family in 1989.

I'm pretty sure this was Spring 1999--just a few months before Les passed away.

I sure miss them.  I will always treasure everything they taught me and the love they so freely gave to all of us.

WHAT IS LOVE: Valentine Post #1

February is all about LOVE--or at least it should be ; )  Oh yes I realize I am hardly an expert on love, but I have been blessed with so much love in my life.  And I have decided to spotlight LOVE for the first 14 days of the month.

So today I just want to say how grateful I am for LOVE.  Can you imagine a world without love?  I CAN'T.  It would be an ugly world indeed if you couldn't see love.  Yes, sometimes we have to look pretty hard to see it, but it usually is there.

Over the last month or so I have seen so much love.  As most of you know Heidi went through her third surgery in 33 days yesterday.  I am so grateful for the love and support I have felt from others for her (and for me).

Here they are yesterday morning.

She had to be at the hospital at 5:30--YIKES!!!  And the surgery was at 7:30.  It was about a three hour surgery and Daniel and I were so grateful to be able to visit with the doctor after surgery who reported that the surgery went well.  We now just have to wait and see if everything works.  We are hoping and praying it will and this poor little girl will have some relief.