40th Birthday

I finally have a few minutes to add my thoughts about turning 40.  First the party.

Starting at 5pm on the 15th of July Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets started.  Then all the rest of the Harry Potter movies until Saturday evening.  Then a short break and we went to the theater to see the final movie in the series.  This was a ton of fun.  I would love to do another movie marathon again (maybe not 8 movies next time, 2 or 3 should be good). 

The best part of the party was all the company.  Mary and Terry from Colorado flew in to enjoy the fun.  So wonderful to spend time with one of my dearest friends.  Mary is one of those people that will be friends for life and treasured dearly.  Her husband Terry is a wonderful addition to that friendship that started in Junior High for us.  Then as a surprise my sister, Linda, showed up.  She had told Kent she was coming but not me.  Sandi was wonderful to hang with us also.  The last few years as we have served, laughed and prayed together we have grown into trusted and dear friends.  By Saturday afternoon Kristi and her husband Dan joined us.  More the merrier.  For the last few years Kristi and I have worked together and this has grown into a friendship that will continue even if one (or both) of us move to other opportunities.

Kent was so supportive of having a house full of people for the weekend.  I am so blessed to have a fabulous husband.

As far as turning 40.  So what.  I not even half done with my life!

The last month

I have promised a few people that I would fill you in with what has been going on.  During November and December I had about 1/2 dozen doctor appointments, 2 1/2 days of tests, multiple blood tests, and 1 MRI.  OK that sounds so much worse then it is.  I will start with the end.  After all this it was found that the medical professionals have no idea why I pass out for no reason.

Now if you want all the details read on.

It all started in June when I was standing in the kitchen talking to Kent and I took a drink of a soda and with in 2-3 seconds I passed out and landed on the tile floor.  Fortunately I only received minor injuries but did not have a reason why.  I blew this off as just an abnormality.  (I had done this before but over 20 years ago - that would be a good story for another post).  Fast forward to mid October and this same situation happens again.  After this Kent says your going to the doctor (my dad also passes out for no real reason).  I go to my Primary Care Doctor and she says let's run some blood work and check your iron, blood cell counts, etc...  She also wants to do an MRI and an EKG.  So we do all this and find that the blood work is normal and the heart rate is fine.  The MRI comes back stating my brain is "grossly unremarkable" (I was insulted by this LOL).  At this point then I have to stop my exercising and training for the Grand Canyon and go see a Cardiologist.

The Cardiologist wants to do his own tests.  This includes ultrasounds of my heart - one a rest and one after a stress test, ultra sounds of my choroid arteries, a 24 hour heart monitor and a tilt table test.  The weirdest was tilt table test.

For the tilt table test first they tell you not to eat or drink for 6 hours before.  So I get there and I am dehydrated and hungry and they want to put in an IV.  I have never had an IV so I cannot give them an option of where is a good place to put it.  After about 6 or more tries by the nurse and the Dr.  I am done.  I have nearly passed out from this process.  So now we have reschedule this (of course this is in east Mesa).  I go back and there is a different nurse there and she is able to get the IV started with only 2 tries (in my hand).  They then hook up a heart monitor and blood pressure cuff.  You are strapped to a table and stood up at 90degrees.  Every 60 seconds you blood pressure is read and they are waiting to see if you pass out.  If in 15 minutes you have not then they give you a Nitroglycerin tablet.  I had to have this and that is some weird stuff.  Then they watch for another 15 minutes to see if you pass out.  I nearly did but not quite.  Then all these readings are given to the Dr.  After it was done I made Kent take me to Krispy Kreme.  It took me about 2-4 more hours to really feel normal again.

As I said in the beginning after all these tests the Dr. could not figure out what the cause was so I just have to call him if it happens again.  How about that for a fun way to spend about 4-6 weeks.

Released

Today was an emotional day at church.  I have spent the last 2 1/2 years as the 2nd Councilor in the Relief Society Presidency.  I have loved this calling so much.  I have been able to grow close to the sisters in our ward by serving them.  They are strong, loving women.  The compassion and testimony that is shared every time the sisters are together continues to amaze me.  During this time I have grown so much. My love of my Savior and testimony of the work being done to save people is amazing.  I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and the sisters that I served.   I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints is true.  The Church has blessed my life so much.  I also have been so blessed to work with some amazing sisters during the time I was in the presidency, Amberly, Teri, Shannon, Jessica, Mandy, Terry, Rachel, Lois, and of coarse Sandi.  I love all of you and each of you taught me amazing things.  Thank you for all the love and kindness that has been shown me.  May God continue to bless all of you.

Faith

Last Sunday we had a wonderful lesson in Relief Society about Faith.  I have been thinking about it all week long and wanted to share my thoughts and insights.  I will be referring to Alma 32:21-42 during this posting.


First I thought of hope. "if ye have faith ye hope for things..."  I thought of how to build faith we must start with hope.  The first time I poured my heart out to The Lord in honest prayers it was with a hope that there was a God and he answered prayers.  I had never met with Him face to face.  He had never spoken to me so it was with a hope He was there.  I found that He was.  My prayers were answered and continue to be.  This hope has grown to a faith.  I now know that if I am sincere and pour my heart out he will answer me.

I do not have a perfect knowledge of things and therefore I continue to grow my faith with a hope that one day I will have a perfect knowledge.

We are asked to experiment upon the word.  The word being the teachings of our Heavenly Father.  By excersisng even a small particle of faith we can learn of the plan our Heavenly Father has for us. 

We compare the word of God to a seed that must be planted in our hearts.  When the seed is placed it can grow or wither and die.  For the seed to grow it must have sun, water, nutirients, and soil.  If any of these are missing then it will die or at least be very weak.

The analogy of the seed being planted and the conditions needed to grow the seed made me think of my own gardening experience.  When planting seeds in CO they would grow just about anywhere with very little care.  Our hearts are like this when they are tender and humble.    When they are tender and ready to receive the teachings we must act and grow the plant as strong as possible. 

Many times the soil we try to plant our seed of faith in is like the hard clay of AZ.  This has been baked and lost many of its nutirents.  We must then tend to the soil by augmenting it and working it and loving it.  This is true of our hearts as well, the harshness and negativity of this world has baked the soil and leached many the nutrients out..  We must tend to our hearts by prayer, study and humility.  As we do this even in the harsh environement of the world we can have a folourishing garden of faith in our hearts from the many seeds we have planted.

I also see faith as being many seeds.  We can gain faith in the redeeming powers of the atonement but it takes another seed to have the faith that we can be forgiven of our sins and still another to believe in the revelations given by the prophet.

I hope that we all can enjoy the blessings of faith and continue to cultivate the seeds that have been planted, the soil they are going it, and the environment that they grow.  May the trees of faith bring forth much fruit that is good and desirous. 

Nothing to Say

Sometimes I wonder why I keep a blog.  I don't have young kids.  No grandkids.  Just cats.  But then I realize that I am incredibly blessed.  I have a wonderful husband who is kind and gentle but with a quirky sense of humor.  We always have a good time whether we are Disneyland or Sam's Club.  I have a fantastic son (OK well I did not give birth to him but he has been a wonderful part of my life since I married his dad).  He is a delight to talk to and a strong spirit about him.  I love my family so much and don't always remember to express this.

I also have a testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel.  For this I am very grateful.  With this knowledge I can endure the tough times and gain even more joy from the good times.  I am thankful for the opportunities I have for service and to be served.

I know this is just a short set of thoughts about how blessed I am but I needed to express what I am feeling.  Thanks for listening.

Book Review

I just finished a book that I was not the target audience.  This was geared to about 9-13 yr old boys.
Enemies and Allies by Kevin J Anderson. 
This is set in the 1950's and is the introduction of Batman and Superman.  If you have a child that is into comic books or superheroes then this is a good option for them.  The reading level (my guess) is about a 7th or 8th grade.  There is some history there and they may have questions about Sputnik,  McCarthy, and other significant things in that time period.  There was not even any kissing just some talk of Superman and Lois Lane falling in love.  There are 2 swear words (as far as I can remember).  A few spots get graphic about the battles but it is not bad.  I enjoyed it and would recommend it to your children if they are into superheroes.

Vacation

Just returned from a wonderful time in CO.  Sometimes it is so hard to be so far from family and the life long friends I have had.   I guess during this trip I saw that my parents are aging and my brother is getting worse in his battle against MS.  I wish we could be closer to help more.  It was also great to see Kent's brother and sister-in-law.  Such fun and love when we are there.

I loved seeing my nieces, nephews, and grand nephews.  All of those kids bring me such joy.
The little guys.
Coal  - Our little diamond in the rough.  He is such a joy and always happy.
Joshua - So patient and just wants to be the best big brother.  He is a calming influence in the room.
Samantha - Our little princess.  So full of life and energy.  She has such a strong spirit.
Benjamin - Such the little man.  So wants to be an adult and yet still a kid.  Full of love and life.
Brady - Such a cutie.  Loves to cuddle and share his love.  He is always fun.
Scott - So wonderful and loving.  He always wants to be in the middle and lover all.
The bigger ones.
Leslie - Such a good mom always wanting the best for her little ones.
Lisa - A good aunt with so much love to share.

Had such a wonderful time with Charles.  I could not ask for a better son.  I love him so much.  It is amazing to see how much has grown.  I am so excited for the future he is planning for himself.  I wish he was closer and we could spend more time together.  Such a great young man with a kind heart and an amazing spirit.

Since we were able to spend 13 days in CO we had the opportunity to get together with friends also.  So many wonderful people that had an influence at different times in our lives.

Thanks everyone for a great time and more wonderful memories.  Looking forward to the next time we can get to CO.