From Dad - May 2016

22 May 2016
Dear Kids

Here’s a recap of our past week. 

Scott & Amy: We have really enjoyed the homemade cafe rio leftovers you sent home with us on Sunday. Amy, Mom said could you send the recipe to all of us. We can't remember which day Spencer and McKenna were flying to their new home in Virginia. We hope they are settled and unpacked and have a nice ward to help make new friends quickly. We know you will miss them---and look forward to frequent letters so you will feel closer to them and more a part of their lives!

16 May 2016 – Monday -- Marilyn picked up Margie at 1:00 for vt. We enjoyed the Cavalia show. The structure was really amazing. We watched the show: very nice. Two of the horses were not minding their trainers very well during one scene. Thanks Chris and Kim for the mother’s day and father’s day gifts. 

17 May 2016 – Tuesday -- Lab tests: My fasting blood glucose was 107, my A1c was 6.1 Still in the prediabetes level. Up from my last A1c of 5.9. My one before that had been 6.1 also. Back home, I got out and worked on our pond pumps. I took them apart and cleaned the filters. I got out again and tried to install the pond pumps in the pond. I finally got them both in, but the river pump did not come up working. It looks like I’ll be contacting Suzie’s pond guys and have them come and install new pumps. I’ve been thinking about doing that for years.

18 May 2016 – Wednesday -- We walked with Elder and Sister Woods over to the Assembly Hall for the 2:30 annual Family History devotional: speaker again: Elder Renlund is now the adviser to both Church History and Family History from the Quorum of the Twelve. We had heard him the week before at the annual Church History Devotional in the auditorium of the Church Office Bldg. He was very humble in his speaking. Since we were in the COB last week, mom had texted Derek to see if he could come down and visit a few minutes, but he texted back that he was actually at home that day.

19 May 2016 – Thursday -- I went to my early 8:30 Dr. Appt, with Dr. Lundsberg. He had them give me a new pneumonia shot, and gave me an order for a tetanus shot, and for a colonoscopy and wanted to see me in a month. I just the colonoscopy scheduled--for our wedding anniversary! I just made a dermatology appt. for Thurs. to check for more skin cancers.

21 May 2016 – Saturday -- We attended our Stake Conference, 6:00 meeting, visiting authority, Elder David Warner. 

22 May 2016 – Sunday – Stake Conference -- Visiting authority, Elder David Warner, very good. Back home, we watched History of the Saints (recorded on TiVo. We watch that each Sunday for our FHE. The moderator of the show was our speaker at Ensign Club (Glen Rawson). We enjoy the show and have watched it for years (less than a half hour). We enjoy it more than most because of our church history mission. It is not produced by the church, but is very well researched. This time they talked about the new Joseph Smith Papers document that was just released, with details from 1834 and 1835. 

We fielded a FH call from Merrill. We got on the computer and helped Merrill find some names, using descendancy research. Margie got on and reserved the 46 names for my dutch descendants, where I had research and added many totally new names to family tree. So if any more of our grandkids are planning a temple trip, we have more baptisms for them. 

I’ve also been reading the Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt. Chris and Kim had a copy at their house that I started when there, and we got a copy out from the library. It’s quite fascinating to see how the spirit worked on Parley so he could find the church. Once he was baptized, he was instrumental in getting his brother Orson baptized, and then later brought John Taylor and Sidney Rigden into the church. 

From John Taylor, the gospel spread to England where thousands were converted and came to Zion. 

Plans for next week: tomorrow night: out to dinner at McGraths with Chris and Kim, Tuesday, cleaning ladies, Wednesday, our shift downtown, Friday, my phone shift again. We have a wedding on Thurs. 

We loved reading all your letters! Thanks! Very good life lesson write up, Chris. Mom sent you a reward by Venmo. Alicia, we liked your mention of a life lesson about choices and how no choices affect just us--they always affect others. Could you expound on it some. Do you and Shane use venmo?

We love you all.

Love, Dad, Grandpa

From Mom: Wow a trip to New York with Adria. The only trip I remember my entire growing up years was one Yellowstone trip, along with some of mom's relatives. Other than that, just lots of camping trips with relatives, which were fun (fun as a kid----as a parent, not so much!!) I'll have to write up my "lost in the mountains" experience.

Jen and Gray, if today is Gray's doctor appt., let us know the results of the MRI and whether it covered the neck area also. Anyone know a good neurologist to have his pinched nerve pain in the neck area checked out? Awful to live in constant pain. Janet Cramer (a doctor's wife) is struggling with the same problem. She was going to try a cortizone shot to see if it would help (I had 2 in my knee and 5 in my back). Scott had a bunch for his broken tailbone, before surgery finally cured the problem, after 5 years of pain. 

Good luck with 3 derbies--busy week! Glad all the duckies are present and accounted for! Is it hard to keep the two cats away from them?

Shane, we accidentally ended up with Windows 10 being installed on my computer---don't know how, I don't remember choosing it to happen--and our printer won't work now from either computer! Sorry to hear about your tooth pain on your trip---that has happened to me and it was abscessed and awful (even Lortab didn't help). Glad you got the root canal over with. And 2 lessons to teach, with all that going on!