I must share a few memes, then I'll go on to happier events of the month.....
Let's move on to continuing miracles.....Last month I reported on Jon's brain surgery. His recovery has been miraculous. He returned to the hospital 10 days after surgery to have his stitches removed and the doctor was amazed at how quickly his incision had healed. The doctor said she had not seen an incision in someone's head from this type of surgery that had ever looked better and healed so fast. She also mentioned the lack of scabbing and swelling that usually accompanied this type of incision. Jon commented that he had not been on any pain medications for several day, another miracle.
We have loved the communications we have received from Jon since the surgery. He has been overwhelmed by the loving support he has received and has vowed to 'pay it forward' by looking for ways to serve others, as he has been served. In another text to the family, he said that he was grateful for the seizure coming when it did so he could get the tumor removed so quickly. He said he has not felt so good in 10 year - more mental clarity, more focus, and more energy. This is amazing to all of us.
Some other family news - On January 2, Ryan was sustained and set apart as the second counselor in the Bishopric of his St. George ward. The stake presidency took 3 wards and created a 4th, of which Ryan was a part. He is now involved in staffing a brand new ward and learning what it's like to be in a Bishopric, a special calling for him. This call has been a confirmation that their family's move to St. George was the right thing for them. Just before the call came, they had signed all the papers to begin construction on their new home in Utah. Things are all starting to fit into place for them.
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| We watched the reorganization of Ryan's stake on Zoom when Ryan was sustained. That's him standing, at the bottom left corner, as his name was presented to the congregations. |
Speaking of Ryan's family, they had purchased ticket to two BYU basketball games. One was on January 8, before the vaccine mandate went into effect. Ryan and Julia stayed home but Katie brought Grace and Nathan to the game. We met them at Blaze Pizza before the game for dinner and then saw them for a minute or two during half time. They loved being there as both Grace and Nathan are avid BYU basketball fans. They watch the games on TV with Ryan and have nicknames for all the players. Go Cougs!!!
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| We won this hard fought game with St. Mary's, a big rival to BYU |
The next day, Janary 9, we celebrated Aria'a birthday. We had dinner, opened presents and had cake and ice cream. Charlotte, Maggie and Maggie's fiance, Kasey, joined us for the party. Aria is really into LOL dolls and Barbies. Thanks to Kailee's stash of LOL dolls, we gave Aria two of the larger ones as well as a Barbie that changes hair color when immersed in hot or cold water. She seemed thrilled with her gifts.
We always give our grandchildren money for their birthdays so they can buy something they need or want. The presents we give Aria and Avery when we celebrate their birthdays in Heber stay here so they will have things to play with when they come visit. Because they have to leave those gifts here, we give them each money to spend for their birthdays, too. We gave Aria her $50 and a couple of days later, Todd and Kailee took her to Target so she could pick out a present from Grandpa and Grandma Millar. They sent us a videos of her paying for it at the self check out machines. We had no idea what that big package was until Kailee sent us a picture of what was inside, once they got home.
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| Heading to the check out machine with her selection |
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| Inside was a stuffed animal that repeats what you say to it when you push a button on its hand. |
We took a day this month to just play. We drove to American Fork to watch the movie, The American Underdog. It was the story of Kurt Warner's dream to play professional football. He never gave up on that dream and eventually led his team to win the Super Bowl. It was a story of overcoming many odds to make his dream come true....a very uplifting movie. Afterwards, we went to lunch and stopped at Costco to do some shopping. A fun day with no commitments.
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| I was grateful for this day with no deadlines |
Andrea, Casey, and Jillian came to Heber the last week of January. They needed to exchange cars with Maggie so they could take her car to Oregon to get it licensed. Each day they were here, they would run errands down in Provo but at night the would come to the house, along with Charlotte, Maggie, and Casey 2 (Maggie's fiancee). Before and after dinner, they would rehearse and record songs for the musical production which Charlotte is writing. She has written the script and at least 18 songs (lyrics and musical score) and is getting it ready to submit it to a competition at BYU. The gang stayed until Saturday afternoon even though we left for St. George on Friday. We loved having them here.
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| Charlotte sent this preview song out on Facebook to show us all what she has been working on. Maggie drew the picture. |
Our trip to St. George was to see Grace perform in a school production of Matilda. We left right after our temple shift on Friday, picked up Aubrey and her roommate, had lunch at Mod Pizza in Spanish Fork, gassed up, and headed South. We arrived in St. George around 7 at which time Ryan and Katie had dinner waiting for us. The next day, we drove to their lot to see how their house and pool and sport court would be arranged on their property. The wood for the home has been delivered and the builders are just waiting for the permits to be registered by the city. Hopefully, they can start the building process soon.
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| One can see the whole of St. George from this ridge just above Ryan's property |
After lunch, we went to a park near their home to play 9 Square. It's a new game that involves 9 players at a time who stand under a specific square. The middle person serves the ball and the person whose square it comes into must hit the ball up and over the square's barriers to another person who tries to hit it to someone else and so on. You are out when you can hit the ball improperly to another person. Everyone then rotates to a new position. The goal is to get to the middle and stay there. A super fun game for all ages - obviously as Dad and I could even play.
After an early dinner, we went to the middle school to watch Grace's performance. She played Miss Honey and was wonderful. She has a pure voice and loves being on stage. We thoroughly enjoyed the production as it was very well done for a middle school. It was off to Alumni Ice Cream afterwards for delicious ice cream from the BYU creamery. A delightful evening.
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| The curtain call for Grace |
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| Grace as Miss Honey and Matilda |
After attending Ryan and Katie's sacrament meeting, we left for home. We got home just in time to make beds and get the house ready for Don and Dana's visit on that Monday. They had been in Vernal with their daughter, Ashley, and decided to spend a couple of days in Heber so Don could be with his two sisters. We didn't do much other then go to lunch each day, visit, have dinner, and visit some more. On Monday evening, we invited Sam and Kathy Bulkeley to join us for dinner at our home. I served taco salad in tortilla bowls which was a big hit. The conversation after dinner was lively, as it always is when Sam is around. The next day, we had lunch at Zuppa's in Park City and, then, drove Don and Dana around Heber. We are hoping that in a year or so they will sell their home in Washington and move to Heber. That night, we had dinner at Deon's. Don got sick Tuesday, during the night, and felt terrible Wednesday morning so we couldn't even say good bye to them before they left. They packed up their things and took them up our back stairs. We had a good time but sad it all ended with sickness.
Just a couple more pictures to share:
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| Posted by Kailee on Facebook |
And a few more things to think about:
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