Thanksgiving

I called my mom on Tuesday. She hasn't been feeling well since April and I had invited her for a weekend getaway and wanted to check with her about hotels. It was a good thing I called. She was on her way to the doctor's office. The doctor had told her she could come in to see him or go to the emergency room. She doesn't like the staff at the emergency room so was going to see the doctor. I made her wait for me to drive her even though she didn't think she could wait that long but she was going to drive - CRAZY! At any rate the doctor had her admitted to ICU. This is the third time this year she has been admitted largely because of her blood pressure which has been too high and this time too high for three weeks and medication was not bringing it down. I spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning at the hospital. They were able to bring her blood pressure down but still do not know why she is so sick. They ran all kinds of tests but nothing. They released on her on Thanksgiving. Michael met me at the hospital so I could leave to cook dinner. We didn't eat until @ 3:30 and had a nice meal. Mutti was even able to eat a little which was good because she hadn't been able to eat for days. We didn't take any pictures. Ty and I left shortly thereafter as we were all working the next morning and had to get up at 3:00 a.m. Not the most relaxing Thanksgiving but we got through it.

Gratitude

We had some good talks on gratitude yesterday at church and thought I would share some of the comments. This is a quote from President Hinckley.
Gratitude is a divine principle. The Lord has declared through revelation: “Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things. …
“And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things.” (D&C 59:7, 21.)
Our society is afflicted by a spirit of thoughtless arrogance unbecoming those who have been so magnificently blessed. How grateful we should be for the bounties we enjoy. Absence of gratitude is the mark of the narrow, uneducated mind. It bespeaks a lack of knowledge and the ignorance of self-sufficiency. It expresses itself in ugly egotism and frequently in wanton mischief. We have seen our beaches, our parks, our forests littered with ugly refuse by those who evidently have no appreciation for their beauty. I have driven through thousands of acres of blackened land scourged by a fire evidently set by a careless smoker whose only concern had been the selfish pleasure gained from a cigarette.
Where there is appreciation, there is courtesy, there is concern for the rights and property of others. Without appreciation, there is arrogance and evil.
Where there is gratitude, there is humility, as opposed to pride.
How magnificently we are blessed! How thankful we ought to be! A bulletin of some years ago of the Royal Bank of Canada dealt with underprivileged people of the world:
“It is difficult for [most] North Americans to understand the plight of people in underdeveloped countries, because [most of us] have never been hungry. No one dies here of starvation. Elsewhere more than 1,500 million people go to bed hungry every night. … The fact is that not more than one in a hundred of the people in underdeveloped countries will ever, in all his life, have what a North American family would consider a good, square meal.”
Cultivate a spirit of thanksgiving for the blessing of life and for the marvelous gifts and privileges each of us enjoy. The Lord has said that the meek shall inherit the earth. (See Matt. 5:5.) I cannot escape the interpretation that meekness implies a spirit of gratitude as opposed to an attitude of self-sufficiency, an acknowledgment of a greater power beyond oneself, a recognition of God, and an acceptance of his commandments. This is the beginning of wisdom. Walk with gratitude before him who is the giver of life and every good gift.

The Dream Manager

I finally got a book at work that I enjoyed reading. It isn't long and you can read it in about 1-1 1/2 hours. It is called The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly. I like it because it applies a lot to personal life. Here are some of the parts I highlighted.
"In many ways, we are our dreams. But people stop dreaming because they get caught up in the hustle and bustle of surviving. And once we stop dreaming, we start to lead lives of quiet desperation, and little by little the passion and energy begin to disappear from our lives."
"Isn't one of the primary responsibilities of all relationships to help each other fulfill our dreams?"
"Nobody likes to feel that they are being taken for granted-that just builds resentment. But appreciation makes people feel good about who they are and what they are doing."
"If we really want to help people, we have a responsibility to help them identify and pursue their dreams."
"In a culture where dreams come true, there is no limit to the enthusiasm you can harness or the things you can achieve."
"...every person has different dreams, and that you cannot force your dreams on another person. Think about how much damage is caused when parents try to force their dreams on their children, or when one spouse tries to force his or her dreams on the other."

Question? What are your dreams or when did you stop dreaming?
My ultimate dream has always been to serve more missions. I knew as a young child that I wanted to serve a mission and did so. I also knew that it wasn't enough. I wanted to do more.
I also want to own a house, to get a doctorate degree (except at times when I know I am crazy!), travel, to live in England.

Disney On Ice

Last night was our annual trip to the Delta Center to see Disney on Ice, being the Disney freaks that we are. We go every year and have a great time. My mom was planning on going but wasn't feeling well since her surgery on Monday. She went in on Monday @ 11:00 for same day surgery which was to take @ 45 minutes. Michael took her in and they didn't get home until after 10 p.m. The geniuses at the hospital sent her home even though she was still bleeding and her blood pressure was too high. They left the catheter in, didn't schedule a follow-up with the doctor and told her just to come back if she didn't stop bleeding. As a matter of fact the surgeon didn't even visit with her after the surgery. The medical profession simply does not care. Enough about that...Her blood pressure was still too high and she wasn't well enough to go.

We were in the suite again which works out perfect for Kate's wheelchair. We only wish Samantha, Amy and Scott could have come because they would have loved it. The show focused on the princesses and the traditional Mickey Mouse characters. We even got to sing the original Mickey Mouse club song...You know, "Who's the leader of the club........" Michael and I still remembered all the words. The costumes were beautiful. It was a fun night.

My camera batteries died after the first four pictures. I kept turning it off and on and managed to take more pictures but they all didn't come out. David is counting down the days til New Years we we go for our annual trip to Disneyland. I believe it is 45 days.

Temple

I went with Ty, my mom, and David to the temple last night. It was nice that we could all go together and do some family names.

I have been getting up late this week because Tyler has been driving himself to school. It has been really nice but we haven't been having family prayer in the mornings because he leaves while I am getting ready. This morning I decided I had better run out before he leaves so we can have prayer. We always have it at the front door before we walk out. I walked out and said, "We need to have" and looked up and there was Tyler at the front door saying a silent prayer. That just made my whole day.

First Snow

First snow for the year-

I got up this morning and heard some kids outside celebrating and looked out the window to see it snowing. My mom has let Tyler borrow her car for the last few days and I was a little worried about him driving but apparently it went okay. I didn't receive a call. Traffic was slow on the way to work and there was an accident on northbound @ 1600 North. Glad I wasn't going to Salt Lake. About an hour later the snow was off the roads and now it is no longer on the ground. I spoke to someone in Salt Lake and they mentioned it hadn't stopped. It always amazes me in Utah how different the weather can be in short distances. It was really pretty this morning with a nice chill to the air but oh how I dread winter.

Happy Halloween

I got home from work after five and turned on the Halloween lights and lit the pumpkins. I got the basket of goodies all ready and waited for the trick-or-treaters. It was a slow night. The smallest number of trick-or-treaters I have ever had. Most of them were older, @ 10. Tyler stayed at my parents since I had to get up early the next morning to work. They also didn't have a lot, which means - MORE CANDY FOR US! Although I am sick of eating chocolate. I have enough at work for one more day and I got rid of all my other treats so it looks like hunger from here on out. Maybe now I can start working on my goal to lose 10 lbs. by the end of the year. I took down most of the decorations but still need to take down the lights and throw the pumpkins away. All I need now is some time.