Family...

Papa:

Last Friday I took Papa back to Dr. Weckman's office for another blood test.  This time the results were excellent.  The blood count which should be between 2 and 3 while taking warfarin was at 3.1.  Dr. Weckman said not to come back for 3 months.  This is good news.

Papa actually walked into the doctor's office without his cane.  He was really moving better. A little limp and not running mind you, but moving better than he has in a long, long time.

Wednesday I took Papa back to Walmart.  His glasses have created a rut in each side of his nose. The right side is particularly troublesome. I believe his old glasses had worn out nose pieces and that is where it started.  They put new nose pieces when we got his new lenses but it didn't seem to help.  This time they put a nose piece that is a bridge and not two little flat pieces on each side of his nose.  He says it feels a lot better.  Hope it will work for him.

Bailey:

Last Saturday was Miss Bailey's 7th birthday.  Andie had a 'PJ and Breakfast' birthday party for our little girl. She had a wonderful time with them.  We went over in the afternoon and opened our gifts for her.  She loved the purple headband with the worry dolls on it from Guatemala best. 

Then Claude and I scooped up Hayden and Bailey and took them to get some dinner then to the movie.  Their choice for dinner was McDonald's. The movie we saw was 'Frozen'.  They saw it on their cruise.  Claude and I had not seen it and waited to see it until we could see it with Hayden and Bailey. Andie and Michael took this opportunity to have an early Valentine's dinner at a nice restaurant.  They met us at the mall and took the kids home and Claude and I headed to Sadieville.  It was fun to be with the Mini's again.

Claude:

Claude continues his campaign to be District 1's Magistrate.  This last week his ads started to appear in the Georgetown NewsGraphic:

I love that he talked to the newspaper and determined the best bang for his buck was to support their page listing all the churches in Georgetown.  He felt good about supporting the importance of religion while he campaigned.

His other ad was in the Scott County Shopper:

I posted this on Facebook and titled it - "Can you find Claudo?"  I felt so clever.  We had a friend say it was a great placement because people are always looking for the Sonic coupon.  It is also on the front page.

Aubrey:

I don't remember putting this on my Blog.  Our middle granddaughter tried out and was accepted for a major talent show in Muskegon.  There are only two teens chosen from each school to participate.  The kids then participate in the talent show and doing so they compete for monetary prizes of several hundred dollars.  It is a big deal and we are so proud of her for trying and then for being chosen.  Claude and I texted back and forth with Nissa this morning and plans are now set to go to Muskegon to watch Aubrey the two nights she performs.  Aubrey does have a beautiful voice and I know she will do great.

Katelyn:

Our oldest grandmonster has been promoted at her job to a full-time position.  She will get a nice raise and is very happy about this opportunity. Yeah Katelyn!

Weather:

We continue to have the whackiest winter yet in Kentucky. Today it got warm enough for the snow to melt a bit. Right now it is snowing again.  Claude just said, "I'm really tired of the snow."  I can't get the concrete outside of Papa's front door to melt.  Lots of salt on it.  Lots of trying to shovel it. The downspout has frozen full of ice. The melting is actually coming from the gutters and everytime I get the ice about gone, more melting happens and after I leave it then re-freezes overnight.  I keep cautioning Papa about going out that door.  I just know winter will end soon.  Usually by February we have many more days that are in the 40's and 50's.  I just know it will end soon.

We canceled our Countryside homemakers meeting the 5th of February because of a very bad ice and snow storm Tuesday evening. We determined just to cancel it for this month and combine the lessons in March.  Turns out that was the right choice as the next Wednesday (12th) we had another snow storm come through.

Sandi:

I had another of those sweet moments that come with being a Primary president.  Jared Charles turned 7 years old. I wanted to take his baptism preparation materials to him.  However his family live out in the country and down a long lane in the woods.  The road is rutted and difficult to drive on and now, with it covered with snow and ice, it is impossible.  I asked if his mom was bringing him into Georgetown at some point and I could take them to Dairy Queen for ice cream. We did that Wednesday evening.  Jared was so excited he was about ready to pop. I asked him if he wanted ice cream or his baptism things first. Ice cream, of course. We got him a chocolate dipped cone and I got a small strawberry sundae and we headed to the extra room where it was a little quieter.  We enjoyed our ice cream and talked about all the missed days of school.  Then I gave him his baptism materials.  When I gave him his Book of Mormon with a challenge to read it over the next year, he was very happy. He couldn't believe it was for him and he got to keep it.  He opened it up and looked at some of the pages.  Then he found a random verse and started to read. As he read he came across the word 'Egypt'. I said, "I am going there."  He paused and gave me that toothy look only a 7 year old boy can give. Then he said, "Why would you want to go there?" Cracked me up.

Forty-Four...

Yesterday marked the ending of one year and the beginning a new year in the history of the marriage of Claude and Sandi. This is my Facebook post about this most auspicious occasion.

Sandi Lawrence Christensen

Yesterday

 

These are pictures of the man I fell in love with and then married 44 years ago on Friday the 13th. He has always been the best looking guy around. He is a great father and grandfather. We have been on many adventures as he completes that part of my personality that would be more cautious. He is strong and caring. And he has provided a wonderful spot in Sadieville for us to enjoy retirement (Ha! Ha!). He is the love of my life and my dearest friend. Happy Anniversary Big Guy!!

 

And here are the photos I posted to fit with my message.

 

 

 

 

We had a wonderful anniversary.  Claude spent the day in Frankfort representing the Scott County Chamber of Commerce with other civic leaders from Scott County and Georgetown. I spent my day accomplishing things on my to do list like laundry, mailing packages, etc.

 

At one point I came upstairs to get my shower before heading into Georgetown.  There on my dresser was a card and a box.  My honey left it much earlier and I was just now finding it.  Inside was a beautiful gold heart necklace with our names engraved on it and our birthstones.  The card was vintage Claude. It read, "No matter how crazy my life gets, I know you'll be there, and when it's your turn to lose it...you can count on me. We're so screwed if it happens at the same time."

 

I met Claude in Georgetown between his meetings and before I headed to Papa's for a lovely dinner at Ruby Tuesday's.  I love their salmon.

 

Today is Valentine's Day. This is a day we don't usually observe because we have just observed our anniversary.  Claude has the tradition of purchasing a Valentine's gift for each of his grandmonsters.  He mailed that earlier.  Again, I found a surprise on my dresser.  A heart shaped box of candy with another card.  Again, that card was vintage Claude. It read, "Your arms are like a magic force field of love protecting me from evil while simultaneously keeping me warm and cozy and that's pretty sweet. (Just like you.)"  He did surprise me.

 

I am feeling the love...bring on year 45!!!

Thoughts & Happenings...

We are having a very interesting winter. As I type this today (Tuesday, February 4th), I find that most of the appointments I have scheduled since January 1st been moved due to weather.  This week we had snow Sunday into Monday. Tonight we have ice, sleet, rain and snow on the way.  The next wave moves through this weekend. It just keeps on rolling through. One concern in moving appointments and meetings to another day is the hope the weather that day will cooperate on the date you changed your appointment to. I cancelled my Countryside Homemakers meeting for this Wednesday because of the ice. One of our homemakers can't get out of her home since the last snow storm since she is out in the country and there is a lane to her home. I've moved doctor's appointments, vet appointments, and church meetings. I've held my Primary presidency meeting using the conference call feature on my cell phone and made sure to do grocery shopping between storms. It is just a little crazy. Claude just got here (Family History Center) and he has heard we are to get 1/4 inch to 1/3 inch of ice tonight. Must be home before then. 

Papa Care:

I took Papa back for his blood test to check the thickness of his blood.  It was 1.5.  It was 1.3 the week before.  Taking the warfarin, it should be between 2 and 3.  Dr. Weckman said to keep him on the increased dosage for another week and then let them test his blood again. That week would be tomorrow and with the anticipated ice I will not be taking him back until Thursday or Friday.

Papa's television went out. Sunday I went over after church to work on it. I was able to get the television to work with his Direct TV remote as far as turning the TV on and changing channels.  He could not adjust the volume or work the mute. But at least he had a television to watch and that is very important when your life has condensed itself to sitting in a recliner all day.  Yesterday afternoon I got a call from Papa that nothing worked with the television.  We were dealing with clearing all the roads and I had to tell Papa I would come by on my way to the Family History Center this morning and work with his television again.  I tucked the Direct TV invoice in my purse to have as a reference.  This morning I stopped by Papa's apartment and tried all the things we did Sunday to get some service.  It was clear we were not going to even get that to work. I called Direct TV again (I did this Sunday and never got a representative) and spoke with a delightful young man who helped us deduce that Papa's Direct TV receiver has expired, is no more, is bleedin' demised (as they say on that Monte Python sketch). They are sending him a new one via Fed Ex and it should be delivered to Papa's apartment by tomorrow afternoon. Instructions were given to set the old receiver by the new receiver and attached the cables exactly as they are on the old receiver. A phone number was given to call if we have any trouble with that. I left Papa with the ability to play DVD's on his TV but no satelite service until the new receiver comes.

When I got to Papa's apartment I found his mailbox laying in the street. Great!! I walked out to pick it up and put it by the post on which it should be mounted.  The door was frozen to the ground and broke off.  This mailbox has been totally rusted and the door had to be worked with to close anyway.  After getting Papa's TV issue under control, I called Ball Realty (Aberdine LLC) and requested a repair.  They are going to install a to new mailbox  within 2-3 days.

Papa is now stocked with groceries and tucked in his apartment ready for the next rain/ice/sleet/snow storm.

Claude Update:

We now have 4 Republicans and 4 Democarts registered to run for Magistrate in District 1 of the Scott County Judicial Court.  Claude is one of the Republicans.  This will be a busy time before the Primary to select one Republican and one Democrat.  They held the state mandated method of selecting the order for names on the Primary ballot in May.  It is basically a 'draw the name out of a hat' method.  Very high tech!!  Claude drew third on the ballot.  He has purchased his yard signs and secured some ads in the local paper.  He is looking at a postcard mailer in the near future. 

Claude also has a nice head cold.  The blessing...it comes before our vacation.

Weekend Get-away:

This last Friday Claude and I drove to Knoxville, Tennessee.  There was an area Leadership Training being broadcast from the Knoxville Stake Center.  We could have stayed home and watched it via electronic broadcast to our building but we really wanted to be there in person.  I found a hotel just down the road and made reservations for us.  We enjoyed a nice drive down. The weather cloudy and cold but good for the trip down.  We found some places to eat that we don't have in our area.  Dinner was at the Smokey Mountain Brewery.  Yummy food and we only drank water.  The training finished at noon on Saturday so we found Potbelly Sandwiches and tried it out.  There happened to be a man playing his guitar and singing Eagles songs.  It was great fun to enjoy delicious sandwiches and watch little children dancing in the middle of the floor to great music. Saturday was freakishly warm (got into the 60's) so the ride home was grand.  However as we approached Lexington, Claude said, "There is your storm coming in."  There was literally a wall of clouds coming at us.  As we got up to Exit 108 on I-75 we could look to the right and see the definite break even more clearly where the sky was clear and the wall of clouds was angling off into the distance.

The training was excellent.  The title could have been 'Hastening the Work'.  Elder L. Tom Perry, Elder Rasband, Elder Zwick, Elder Hymas and Elder Kopischke were there.  The Mission President for the Knowville Mission was there.  The meeting was conducted by Elder Hymas.  He was our Stake President and I was the Stake Relief Society President for four years with him.  He holds a tender place in my heart.  Elder Rasband spoke first to set the stage.  The comment that struck me most from him was this time in the Church is on the same level with the restoration of the Gospel or the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.  Elder Perry spoke next and the comment I noticed most from him was "Now is the Time".  Then the meeting was opened to a Question and Answer session. Questions were taken from the audience and were sent via text from the other locations viewing the meeting. Great question and excellent answers.  Then Elder Rasband bore his testimony. Then Elder Perry closed with his testimony.   The final words spoken by Elder Perry were stated in a very strong, firm voice, “No Man Leads This Church.  It is the Savior’s Church.”  We were both very grateful we went to Knoxville for this training.  My notes take up four typed pages.

Sharing the Building:

The second Sunday in January our church building was closed because of water pipe issues.  We met in the Frankfort Ward building.  This last Sunday Paris Ward building was closed due to water pipe issues (again, this has been an interesting winter).  Paris Ward would meet in our building. We overlapped the meetings.  Our meeting block was the same: 9:30am to 12:30pm.  Paris Ward met in the building from 11:30am to 2:30pm.  I was to contact the Primary president from Paris Ward and help her feel comfortable using our Primary room and Nursery.  I was very happy to learn Kristy Akemon was the Primary President.  She was the Relief Society president in Paris when I was Stake Relief Society President.  It was so nice to see and work with her again.  It was nice to be able to kind of 'pay it forward' by helping Paris feel welcome like Frankfort helped us to feel welcome. 

Sandi Update:

I have enjoyed what I am calling 'extra days'.  Days like yesterday.  My day was to include a Presidency meeting in Georgetown followed by grocery shopping for Papa.  Snowed in and plans had to be rearranged.  Groceries were bought earlier than usual.  Presidency meeting was handled by giving agendas and handouts to my presidency on Sunday, then conference calling to do our meeting on Monday.  That meant I really had a lot more time at home.  I finished reading my book about Cleopatra. I cleaned my kitchen and my oven.  I then headed to the basement to start cleaning my sewing room and finished some projects.  I determined I would not sit at my computer and work on anything related to Primary or Homemakers or Friends of Sadieville.  I would focus on all those piles of things to be finished.  I was able to repair the ceramic Christmas tree that was my mothers and get it to storage.  I made the head rest for the red chair in the living room from the left over fabric.  I did all the mending.  I cleared away all the filing I have accumulated.  My sewing/craft/computer work room is not done by any stretch of the imagination but it sure felt good to do some of those things I put off while keeping up with the day to day.  Love having 'extra days' because of the weather. 

As I drove into Lexington today I noticed all the streets and how they had all been plowed.  They are clear of the snow and ready for the next wave of weather.  The only street that was bad between my home and the Family History Center was Papa's and it was drivable. I marveled at how many snow plow passes had to be done to clear federal, state, county and street roads.  That is a mammoth undertaking and, yet, it was done.  I appreciate the warning to stay off the streets.  It sure would make the snow plow drivers job a lot easier with as many people off the streets as possible.  Clear streets and highways are a blessing.