A SAD MONTH WITH THE DEATH OF MY OLDER SISTER, SONNIE

This month on July 15, my sister, Sonnie, passed away. Sonnie had been suffering with alztheimer's disease for a few years. When we visited her last year, we could tell she was not the Sonnie we had always known. Over the year, her condition worsened until she didn't even recognize her own children, Christian and Jeanie. What a sad disease this is. Jeanie called me on the 14th and said the Sonnie's passing would be soon as she was lying in bed and hadn't eaten for a couple of days. (This is exactly the way Paul's brother progressed with alztheimer's.) Sonnie died the next morning. She will be missed but now her mind and body in no longer failing her.

Her funeral was held on Monday, July 27th, in Denver, Colorado. On Sunday, we traveled to Grandby, Colorado and spent the night. Don and Dana joined us there and in the morning, we drove into Denver to attend the funeral. The funeral was held in an Episcopal church. It is the church Sonnie had been attending since she moved to Denver to live with her daughter, Jeanie. It is a denomination that broke off from the Catholic church but still preforms many of the traditional rituals of the Catholic church. Sonnie's funeral was just that - a service of rote prayers and ceremonial recitations and even communion. The only thing that was about Sonnie were the 4 talks by family members and a friend. The first talk was a tribute by her son, Christian. I followed him with a talk about Sonnie growing up in our loving home and some of the things we experience with her throughout her life. I included thoughts from each of our siblings. I was glad I could represent our family and pay tribute to Sonnie in this way. Sonnie's grandson, Andrew, gave a short talk and then a former Montessori friend talked about Sonnie's accomplishments in that field of peace and love education. Sonnie had written 3 books and was instrumental in spreading the Montessori method of teaching children around the world. The funeral was followed by a luncheon in the reception hall of the historic church. We had a chance to visit with Christian and Jeanie before we had to leave. We then drove the 3 hours to Steamboat Springs where we spent the night, along with Don and Dana. We left for home the next morning while Don and Dana stayed another 2 days. They had always wanted to visit Steamboat Springs and this was their opportunity to explore this city.

At the front of the sanctuary with the urn
containing Sonnie's remains

Part of the many displays of Sonnie's life

All of Sonnie's family members present
at her funeral

Christian sitting at our table

Jeanie with her 'Love Light' necklace around her neck.
This is something Sonnie used in her teaching of little
children to help them recognize they were important
and carried with them light and love that
could affect the world.

On a a happier note, we celebrated Avery's baptism at the first of the month. She had turned 8 at the end of April but with the family schedules and vacations, she wasn't baptized until this month. She was beautiful in her white dress and Todd gave her a wonderful blessing when he confirmed her. All of Kailee's family was there as were Jon and MIndi. We all went over to Todd and Kailee's home for a lunch afterwards. We were glad we could be a part of this important occasion for Avery.

Such a beautiful little girl

This month, we celebrated the 4th of July with Ryan's family. They came up from St. George so they could attend the summer pro basketball games held in Salt Lake and the Stadium of Fire at BYU. Ryan had an extra ticket so Paul went with them to the games in the afternoon of the 4th. They then rushed home to drop off Paul and pick me up to go with them to the Stadium of Fire. Brad Pasley, a country singer, was the guest performer. I had never heard of him but Grace was real excited to hear him perform in person. We also enjoyed all the other evening's entertainment before Brad performed. The whole night was fun, especially being with Ryan's family. The fireworks that followed were out of this world. Probably one of the best displays I've ever seen as they combined fireworks with a drone show. The whole evening lasted until close to 11 and then there was the walk to the car and getting out of the parking lot. We didn't get home until almost 1:00 in the morning. Ryan and Katie stayed through the weekend. 

Paul at the basketball games

At the stadium

 At church together

At the first of the month, we found out from Don and Dana that St. George had peaches. All our peaches here in Northern Utah were hit by a frost so we were told there would be no peaches this season. When we heard there were peaches down south we asked Dana to buy us some. They were in the process of moving into a new home in Spanish Fork so they brought peaches to us. I was so excited that I could have enough peaches to freeze for slush for the coming year.

Two other fun things happened this month - a visit from a special friend and a musical.

I got a call from my friend, Jan Holiday. She said her son was coming into town and wanted to take her up to his cabin in the Park City area. She wanted to get together so we decided to meet for lunch at the Junction in Heber. Her son was bringing her so I brought Paul. It was good to see her again and we all had a nice visit over a tasty lunch. 

The musical we attended at the Hale Theater was Harmony. It was the true story about a singing group in the late 1930's. It took place in Germany about the time of the rise of Hitler. Three of the six singers were Jews. It was a great show that portrayed the dangers experienced at that time for anyone who didn't agree with the policies of the Hitler regime. The group was world famous, performing in many countries, including the USA. They decided to return to Germany which led to their eventual downfall when they wouldn't become traveling ambassadors for the German Reich. Three escaped Germany but three were imprisoned then sent to the front lines and killed. The story was told by one of the surviving member - a very effective way to portray this group's rise and fall from fame. It left us with a lot to think about especially with what is happening in the United States right now where the communist/socialist movement is gaining momentum.

The group's official name became the
Comedian Harmonists

Now for a couple of memes to close out this month and to give us something to think about.

CHANGE WAS THE SLOGAN FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE

 When we think of the month of June we think of changes - some just expensive and one very scary. We'll start with the expensive ones. One Sunday, Paul went upstairs to check the temperature and found that the heating/air conditioning unit wasn't working. He called Any Hour Repair the next day and scheduled an appointment to get it fixed. When they came a few days later, they suggested we replace the whole unit. To be safe they checked the furnace downstairs and said it was in worse shape then the upstairs unit. They suggested we replace both units and told us they were running a special that if you bought an air conditioning unit they would give us the furnaces for free. That sounded good since we have had the furnace and air conditioning units for 20 years. (They are designed to only run for 15 years,) We decided to take advantage of the special and have both the furnaces and air conditioning units replaced for around $20,000. It took them most of the day but, in the end, we have heating and air conditioning that should last another 20 years. 

Part of the floor coverings they laid
so as not to ruin our floors as they installed
the furnaces.

The next change came a few days later for a mere $28,000.  It was time to replace our driveway so we had arranged for a company to do just that. They started a couple of days after we had our furnaces replaced. This meant tearing out the existing cement, leveling the area, and putting in rebar. The next step was pouring the actual driveway with new cement. The whole process took a couple of weeks. The kicker, though, was that we couldn't drive on it for another week after they finished. We had to park the car and truck in the road and walk to them any time we wanted to go somewhere. The hardest part was that my ankles and knees were still hurting and it was hard for me to walk up to the cars. There was a few times Paul picked me up in the back so I wouldn't have to struggle walking up to the street in front. The driveway looks great so the effort and money were worth it.

Tearing out the existing cement

Pouring the new driveway

Now for the scary change. It involved Gary Fuller, my brother in law. For a few days he was experiencing some stomach issues. When he finally went to the doctor, it was thought he was having an appendicitis attack. The doctor sent him over the the emergency room for a CT scan. When the results were read, they were told that he had some masses in his abdomen. He was sent down to Utah Valley hospital in an ambulance and admitted there. The next day, they did a pet scan and took a biopsy. He was feeling better so they sent him home to await the results of the scan and biopsy. He was able to spend Father's day with his whole family but then on Monday he started feeling really bad. He was listless and very pale and had blood in his stools. At the doctor's suggestion, they rushed him back to the emergency room in Provo where they gave him 2 liters of blood as his blood count was down to 7 and it should be at 14. He was admitted again but this time in ICU. The doctors discovered that the cancer in his stomach was bleeding causing the low blood count. The next day, they did an endoscopy to cauterize the bleeding sores. While he was in the ICU the results of the pet scan came back and it didn't look good for Gary. The doctors told them they better be thinking of end of life preparations as the masses were in 4 different areas - the kidney, the spine, the lungs, and the stomach. We were all devastated and couldn't imagine a life without Gary. All his children and most of his grandchildren came to the hospital so Gary could say his goodbyes to them. Then the miracle happened. The biopsy came back and their oncologist came with the good news. The masses were a B-cell Lymphoma and were treatable and even curable. It would mean 6 chemo treatments - one every 3 weeks. That was the best news we could all have hoped for. They administered the first chemo treatment in the hospital and Gary had no side effects. He is home now and is building his strength back with the help of a physical therapist. It will be a long road ahead with lots of changes in their life style until he finishes his treatment but, at least, he has hope for a future.

Another change in our family is that Julia finished her home MTC and flew to Mexico City to learn Spanish at the MTC there. She was so excited to be there and has been doing wonderfully. She leaves for her mission to Yakima, Washington in mid July. We are so proud of our three grandchildren serving mission.

One more change is that Paul is a year older - 83 or as he loves to say he's in his 84th year. We celebrated his birthday by going to a movie that he had wanted to see. The movie was entitled 'Pressure' and was about the drama leading up to invasion at Normandy on D-Day. It was a great movie. We finished our celebration by going to Chuck a Rama for a late lunch. That is not my favorite place to eat but I agreed as it was Paul's birthday. We had a good time spending the day together.

The salad is the best part of what is offered here

Jon and Mindi sold their home in Florida and are now permanently here in Utah - another change. We are grateful to have them living close to us again. They have come to Sunday dinner a couple of time since they've been back and we love it. After dinner, everyone's favorite thing to do is play wiffle baseball in the backyard. It's fun to watch the family having such a good time together. 

One of the wiffle balls that Paul found when he
was weeding the yard. Every time they play wiffle
baseball, at least one ball is lost until Paul finds it.

And last - I thought I would not be able to do any peach slush this year as all the peaches in this area were frozen. We found out from Dana that there were peaches in St. George. She was willing to bring us up 40 pounds so I did 15 bags of peach slush. That should keep us in slush for the whole year. (Note: Don and Dana bought a home in Spanish Fork as a second home. They sold their home in Washington and are now full time Utah residents. They will spend the summers in Spanish Fork and winters in St. George. It'll be great to have the close in the summer - another change for this month.)

I found this meme that I loved so I'll close with it.

MANY MEMORABLE MOMENTS IN MAY

The month of May was a busy one with many wonderful moments beginning with Mother's Day. Paul and I were alone on the actual day but Andrea and Todd sent flowers and all our family called or texted to wish me a happy Mother's Day. It was a nice day with Paul barbecuing steaks for us. 

The next weekend, we traveled to St. George for Julia's farewell talk in her ward. She did an amazing job and will be such a wonderful missionary. She started home MTC while we were there. 

Dinner after Julia's farewell

Julia was set apart on Tuesday
of that week

Officially a missionary

Home MTC

Before we left for home,
 we dropped by to say our final goodbyes to Julia

We stayed in St. George the whole week after the farewell because Todd had invited us to be with them at the Arcadia Resort for the Memorial Day weekend, starting that Friday. During the week, we relaxed a lot, visited friends and family, did a puzzle, and read. It was kind of nice not to be on any deadline for a few days. 

The puzzle of the BYU stadium.  I think
Paul may have put in one piece.

On Monday, we visited our neighbors who have a second home in St. George and were staying there for a couple of weeks. We both commented that it was the longest we had visited since they moved next door 10 years ago. It was nice.

Tuesday, we went to the Red Cliff temple and enjoyed the session. After lunch, we went back to the condo to await Deon and Gary. They were on their way to California for a grandson's homecoming. We invited them to stop and spend the night with us so they didn't have to drive the whole way in one day. They arrived around 4 and we went to dinner with them at a Mexican restaurant, of course. That night, we watched a movie and they left after breakfast in the morning.

The next day, we visited dear friends, Dick and Sunny Reinhold, who moved from Heber to St. George. We wanted to see where they were living as it was a 55 and older community. They invited us to have lunch with them at their facility which was very nice. They are living in a place where you lease an apartment and then pay a monthly fee for your meals that are served in the dining room. There are all sorts of activities for them to do which is key for Sunny. The facility is very nice but we realized we couldn't live that kind of life. We had a great visit with them. (Side note: we had talked about wanting to see the Reinholds while we were in St. George. We stopped in Fillmore for lunch and decided to go the Iceberg hamburger place there. We ordered our food and went to sit down at a booth when we noticed Dick and Sunny there in a booth across from us. That was quite a little miracle. It was there we arrange to come visit them on Wednesday.)

Dick and Sunny in their apartment
which they love and wouldn't want to
be anywhere else at this stage in their lives.

Thursday was a day of relaxing waiting to hear from my brother, Dave, as to when a good time would be to come visit. Finally, it was decided we'd come in the evening so went to dinner at In'n Out before going to their home to visit. We were glad we took time to visit Dave and Susette as we had a great time catching up on each other's families as well as what's happening in their lives. Darrell, my other brother, joined us as he lives with Dave and Susette. We stayed longer then we had anticipated as it was such a fun visit.

Friday, we moved out of our Worldmark condo and moved into the Arcadia Resort. Kailee's sister and her family joined us and then Todd and his family came in about 10:00 that night. We spent a lot of time at the pool area which included a lazy river, a water slide, a pool and 2 hot tubs, as well as a kiddie pool area. The children loved every minute of their stay. On Sunday, I fixed a dinner for everyone including Ryan's family who came to join us. Everyone left on Monday.

We left Monday morning before 10 hoping to avoid Memorial Day traffic. We didn't as the traffic was heavy for most of the trip home. We made a detour into Pleasant Grove to put flowers on Paul's parent's graves. We were glad we took time to do that but were happy when we finally made it home to Heber.

While we were away, our new neighbors moved in. We met them just as we were leaving for St. George and they seem nice. They have a 10 years old boy and 2 yappy little dogs. They have fenced in their back yard for the dogs but if they are outside when we come out, they run to the fence and bark. We'll just have to get used to new neighbors after 10 years with the Smiths. We did visit our new neighbors and took the some cookies on Saturday. We had a good visit with them. They have totally changed the inside of the house with new floors throughout and several chandeliers. 

The new fence

They have yet to water their lawn. Hopefully that will
change when they get settled.

Also on Saturday, we visited our old neighbors, the Smiths, in their new home. They are still in the process of putting up shelving and unpacking. It was nice to sit down and visit with them for a while before they took us on a tour of their new home.  We will miss them terribly as neighbors.

Our granddaughter, Lydia, is serving her mission in Arizona. She surprised us with the sweetest hand written 2 page letter. In it she thanked us for all we had done for her and for raising her Mom in the gospel. We loved the fact that she would take time to write such a loving letter.

Our Lydia

At the end of this month, we finally found a Sunday to celebrate Avery's birthday. Her birthday was the day after mine, April 29, but we couldn't find a Sunday to celebrate with her till the last of May. She is really into puppies so I made her a puppy cake and bought her a talking puppy and a sticker book of dogs and puppies. She seemed to love it all.

Lastly I need to discuss my health. Since mid April I've been struggling with unexplained aches and pains in my body. Something seems to be attacking my joints causing swelling especially in the ankles and knees. I finally went back to the doctor as the medication he had prescribed earlier for me wasn't taking the pain away. He took blood to test for auto immune disease and rheumatoid arthritis. He also put me on a low dose of Prednisone, a steroid. He wants me to take it for three weeks and then come back in so he can decide what else, if anything, we can do to relieve the pain. The Prednisone worked well for the first couple of days but doesn't seem to be helping too much now, even though I doubled the dose. I'm so tired of hurting and hope we can get to the bottom of my problem. (The results of the blood work came back and it's negative for rheumatoid and auto immune disease but it did show my body was full of inflammation. It'll be interesting to see what can be done about that.)

I hate to end on a downer of the note but that's the way it is.