Medical Update

Tyler had his follow-up appointment yesterday and as anticipated the test from yesterday came back normal, like many others. The larger test they did also came back not showing any complications. It was actually a waste of time, the entire process but at least now we are done. Our family doctor is going to let us pick up the forms to turn in and we are hoping to get Tyler in to visit the Bishop tonight and the Stake on Sunday and get his paper's off to church headquarters.

Weight

My clothes are not fitting as well as I would like. Basically my goal has been to drop a size but I always have a difficult time dropping pounds. My weight stays pretty consistent within a five plus or minus range (okay, usually plus). One of my biggest weaknesses is snacking. I was eating a Trio bar every morning, which is a really good nut bar but looked at the packaging last week and discovered that it has 16g of fat in it. Step 1 - stop eating Trio bars. Step 2 is to stop eating garbage and eat healthier snacks. I still have a junk drawer at home with cookies and chocolate in it, ice-cream in the freezer, and chips but have gone two days without any sugar or unhealthy snacking. I haven't even craved the sugar and when I feel hungry I eat a healthy snack. I am not cutting out carbs because I simply cannot do that. It always makes me a little crazy and I crave sugar. Day 3 still have not had any sugar and am doing fine. I have an apple, yogurt, and can pop fat-free popcorn if I get hungry between a meal. My goal is to lose 2 pounds this week and 2 pounds next week before our cruise, which is realistic for me. I even have a one pound bag of Peanut M&Ms in the closet at work and have not touched them.

Garden

Saturday Michael, Mutti, and I worked in her yard all day planting the garden, weeding, and general clean-up. There is still a lot of work like putting up the gazebo and replacing some doors. It is satisfying work at the end of the day. We planted some strawberries for the first time so hopefully everything grows. I also planted my herb garden from seed this year so hoping it grows. Sunday the weather was nice again so we ate in the backyard and sat around talking. Later in the evening my mom decided she wanted to build a fire. My dad wouldn't do it and Tyler was asleep (he makes great fires) but after watching him do it several times I was able to build a great fire. We sat outside and drank herbal tea. Very enjoyable. The weather this week has been a mix of sun and rain, which not so much fun for us but great for the garden.

Whiskers

Whiskers was our cat. My mom brought her home from the AF Hospital when Tyler was really little. She was a stray that kept coming around the hospital looking for food. She was a great cat and loved to sit on your chest or sleep on your bed. Of course she would always sleep on top of you or in the middle of the bed. She was probably around 20 years old but we had been concerned the last year because she was always hungry but continued to lose weight. I do not believe her body was able to absorb the food anymore causing her to constantly throw it up. Michael always had the fun on cleaning up after her. Basically, she was starving to death. Michael and David took her in last week because she had stopped eating completely for two days. Although emotional the vet gave her a tranquilizer to calm her and within one second of receiving the second shot she was gone. We will always remember the good times we had with her.

Medical Update

As you know Tyler had been referred to a nephrologist (kidney specialist) as his tests showed high protein in his urine. This can be a sign of kidney failure but also nothing. We were having difficulty getting him in to see someone as they were very difficult to work with. The earliest he could be seen was on the 28th. I called on Wednesday (5th) to cancel because that is his high school graduation and she told me he could be seen on the 21st. We had been praying about it and I suddenly had the thought of why we were bothering with the Central Utah Clinic. They are not the only nephrologists in the state so I went online and looked up IHC nephrology and called the first doctor on the list, located in Sandy. They were waiting for a patient to confirm a 9:00 a.m. appointment the next morning (6th) and if the patient did not call by 4:00 p.m. we could have it. The patient didn't call and Tyler was able to see the doctor Thursday morning. He doesn't believe it is anything but wanted to run all the tests again to make sure. We started on the tests yesterday and this morning Tyler had blood drawn again. We are hoping everything comes back normal and this is the end. The doctor also told him to stop drinking his protein shake in the morning. Unfortunately, we do not have a follow-up until the 19th as the doctor is in the hospital all next week.

What a Sweet Boy

Tyler presented me with a rose and a cd from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for Mother's Day. He is a sweet boy and I'm really proud of him.

Mother's Day Cont.

Yesterday we celebrated Mother's Day as a family. Kristina was able to make it down and helped me prepare the meal. We made Barefoot Contessa's roasted chicken (wonderful), pear salad with champagne vinaigrette, and cheddar dill scones. It all turned out amazing and we had a very nice day.
David found a really cute Disney card for all of us to sign and Kristina brought her some tulips and lotion from Bath & Body.
Someone at church mentioned that a lot of men do not do anything for their wives because they are not their mothers and asked how children are to learn to honor and respect their mother's when the father's do not do so. As Mutti mentioned Mother's Day is a day to celebrate all mother's everywhere.
My mother did not have an easy childhood growing up during World War II in Germany. She had to learn to be self reliant and teach herself. Fortunately, she took after many of her ancestors who were well educated and had a passion for learning and was also a very hard working. My mother basically raised seven kids on her own and worked two jobs for many years to provide them with opportunities. She has always encouraged me and it is because of her that I had the chance to go to school in Germany and also to Jerusalem with BYU. It is through her that I have inherited the desire for learning and volunteering, as she has always given to others. She unfortunately was never able to go to college but made it possible for all of her children to learn as much as they desired. She is talking about going back to school with Michael - I hope she can. Thank you for everything Mutti! Happy Mother's Day!!

Mother's Day

Saturday Michael and I spent the entire morning shopping and going to breakfast. We haven't done it in a long time. Michael had to drop David off at Penney's to work so we headed over to Mimi's Cafe for breakfast. I got a new outfit for the cruise. It was fun but I was really tired and had a hard time to keep going. We picked David up @ 2:00 and then went over to In & Out for lunch. It was mine and David's first visit. We had to sit outside, which was so windy it kept blowing everything away. The hamburgers were good but not anything better than what I have eaten elsewhere. Certainly not worth standing in a long line for.
We had decided to build Mutti a fire pit area and get her a new larger pit for mother's day. We had to wait to use the truck so were unable to get down to Home Depot until late in the evening. We got it built and put together @ 10:00 p.m. Mutti was really excited about it and almost started crying. We are going to redo it and dig out the rocks and set down to flat slabs so that it is more even. Unfortunately, this week the weather is supposed to be snowy and rainy but hopefully soon we can enjoy it.

Iron Man 2

We went with work Friday night to 5 Guys Burgers & Fries and then to see Iron Man 2. Tyler immediately fell asleep before the movie started. He had to watch a movie for film literature so thank goodness I didn't send him alone. Neither of us had seen the first one so it took me a while to get into it. We tried to find the first one over the weekend but could not find it anywhere.

Graduation

My graduation was on May 1st and was a lot of fun. The family came out and supported me although Tante Kristina could not be there because Kate has been sick lately. Tyler presented me with a lei and was very excited. The day was beautiful and the graduation ceremony was very enjoyable. The only negative to our day was getting out of the E Center parking lot, which has only one exit. It was crazy. We went to 106 to have lunch at the Olive Garden. Tyler was not able to join us as he had to get back for ballroom.
I am starting my PhD on July 5th. Kristina is also going back to school to get her PhD and is starting next Monday but considering on checking out the University of Utah and transferring.

Ballroom

Tyler had his final ballroom performance a couple of weeks ago. The school did three performances and it was strictly ballroom, which was so much more enjoyable. Her performed really well although Friday night was unable to perform on of the dances as his partner was at the state band competition. The final performance by all the students was choreographed by one of the choreographers of High School Musical. They did a great job.