Hospital & Home...

This was a week of highs and lows. Claude would have his surgery on Monday. I have recorded all that transpired in the hospital and when he got home in another place. For my Blog, I will share the humor and milestones of this week. 

Monday, June 19th, Home and to the Hospital for Surgery

          I was grateful we didn't have to be at the hospital until 11:30am. This allowed us to sleep in till rested. I was able to give Claude a haircut that morning. We were not rushed at all to get to the hospital. By 11:50am Claude was taken to get prepped for surgery. By 12:35pm they let me go back to wait with Claude until surgery. 

          Before surgery, Claude made me promise not to post pictures on Facebook. I had not taken any pictures. As Claude lay there all prepped and ready for surgery, he looked at me and asked if I wanted to take a picture. I assured him I really did. I took one serious picture. 

When I looked again, Claude struck a pose that sent us both into fits of laughter. I can only imagine what the nurses thought as they walked past the room they had Claude in. He was good enough to strike that pose again so I could take a picture for our kids. 

Okay, I did send it to more than just our kids. I sent it to Claude's siblings, our Bishop and Elder's Quorum president, a dear friend, Laura and my sisters. Just a few close people... When Claude's sister, Tami, saw it, she was concerned. I never thought anyone would take this picture seriously. Laura showed it to her daughter, Jessie. Jessie asked, "Is Claude pretending to sleep with his tongue hanging out?" Laura answered, "Yep." Jessie replied with a smile, "Silly old Claude!"

          I also took a picture of Claude's cool green socks. 

Claude's brother, Cordell, said, "I'm glad there's not a tag on his toe!" Our daughter, Andie, sent this picture of her dad's green socks. 

          At 1:20pm Claude was taken to surgery and I headed back to the waiting room. 

          There are signs all over the waiting room stating the person accompanying the person in surgery must stay in the waiting room. I talked to the volunteer working in the surgery waiting room explaining I would like to go get something to eat. She said the cafeteria closed at 1:30pm. I hurriedly went to the cafeteria and picked out a small bag of chips and a Mountain Dew. I found a quiet place in the second waiting room, curled up with my Liahona to read while munching my chips and sipping on my soda. Then I tasted the soda. UGH!! It was a Diet Mountain Dew. I do not like diet sodas. Silly Moi. I drank half of it and tossed the rest. 

         At 2pm I received a call from the floor nurse in surgery telling me Dr. Slabaugh was beginning the surgery on Claude. Surgery could take up to 1 1/2 hours and there would be 1 hour in recovery before he would go to his room. I moved back to the main waiting room and finished reading my Liahona. 

          At 4:40pm, I looked up from my reading and saw a nurse pushing a gurney down the hall. On that gurney was my Big Guy Claude. I walked with them to his room. I was asked to stay in the hall while they got him set up. The nurse pushing the gurney opened the door to Room 125. The door would not stay open. And, as she assessed the situation, she realized she couldn't get the gurney in the room and by the bed in the room. Claude had to get up and walk from the gurney in the hall into the room and get into his bed while still coming out of anesthesia. He did it, bless his heart. 

          The armband they put on Claude when admitted to the hospital had a bar code on it. Each time someone came in to do something with Claude, they scanned his armband bar code. Each time they scanned his arm, Claude would say, "I enjoy being a commodity." 

          Claude was sure I should go home each night. I stayed until 9pm, when normal visiting hours were over, then I headed for home for the night.

Tuesday, June 20th, A Day in the Hospital

           Claude sent this text to his children, "So far I have learn that the best way to draw attention to yourself is to go to sleep and the only near-death experience is the food."

          Claude would wear a bright yellow hospital gown that tied in the back. They actually gave him a second one to wear like a jacket so that he was not exposed when he walked. His work from this point forward would be to walk as much as he could. I took this picture of my hubby in his stunning yellow outfit.

Laura's daughter, Jessie said, "He looks like a jail suit or a big banana!" Our son, Jake, works at the hospital in Chelsea, Michigan. He sent this message to his dad. "I arranged a consult with one of Chelsea Hospital's ICU nurses. She confirms that Dad's patient gown has a regrettable McDonald's color scheme, but that he is "rocking it".  Andie, our daughter and Jake's sister, replied, "Let's call him...McDad!" Andie sent this picture.

At 5pm, I left the hospital to get something to eat. I had not eaten all day and it was time. I stopped to take a picture of the horse outside the entrance to the hospital.

I would go back to the hospital until 9pm. When I got home, my goal was to make a grid. I had picked up the four medications his doctor ordered for him to take during his recovery. I wanted a chart that Claude could simply mark when he took the meds for an easy way to keep track of when they were taken. I am quite proud of this grid. My family teases me about my grid making, but Claude would say later in the week that the grid was very helpful.

Wednesday, June 21st, A Day in the Hospital

          This is where the hospital stay became trying for Claude. He was prepared to stay one night. He was aware he might have to stay for two night. This day he learned he would have to stay for a third night. He was miserable and in great pain. 

          This day I kept hearing what sounded like a music box playing from the speakers in the hallway. I learned that every time a baby is born, they play a lullaby over the PA system. LOTS of babies were born on Wednesday. There were also LOTS of announcements over the PA for strokes in the ER. And, to make the day really special, there was one crazy person in the hall. They came in off the street and managed to wander down the halls. I heard someone carrying on as if they were very upset at something that happened to them in the hospital. It sounded like they were in the room next to Claude. Turns out it was this crazy person in the hallway. They managed to get them out of the hospital. 

Thursday, June 22nd, From the Hospital to Our Home

          During the night, Claude finally passed the corner and was told he would be released on Friday. Claude had the same nurse during the day for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Her name was Stephanie, and she was a pure delight. She was definitely a Kentucky girl with a thick accent and a heart of gold. She was a quick wit and matched Claude's wit very well. Claude had a little bag inserted into one of the wound to drain fluid out of the wound. Stephanie came in to remove it and another RN was with her named Sal. She was going to show him how to remove the bag as they don't get to do this very often. As she was preparing the area to remove this drip, she said, "It's not that hard. I just Google it!" 

          At 2pm we were given final instructions and Claude was released. 

          We were at home by 2:30pm. Claude was so happy to be out of the hospital. He went right to bed for a good, well-deserved nap.

          You know you are on the mend when your first meal home you ask for macaroni and tomatoes. This was a family favorite when Claude was a child. Claude's sister, Lynette, said, "Memories of our childhood!" Another sister, Tami, said, "It is always the go to Comfort Food."

Friday, June 23rd, At Home

          Was a banner day, Claude had his first shower. His last shower was Monday morning before we went to the hospital. His comment after getting out of the shower, "I am blonde again!"

           I started a puzzle Andie and Michael gave me to make while Claude was recuperating.

Saturday, June 24th, At Home

          We got Claude out of the house for a bit. We went for a Smoothie run. We started watching the Monk DVD's again. I finished the puzzle this night. It was fun to do a puzzle and it not be Christmas.

Sunday, June 25th, At Home

           I would leave Claude alone for the morning. I played the organ for Sacrament Meeting and the piano for Primary. Then drove to Jimmy John's to get us sandwiches for lunch. 

          While I was in church, I could hear thunder rumbling outside. This day would be full of thunderstorms, some severe. We had a quiet afternoon and evening watching more of the Monk series. Thunderstorms happened through the evening and into the night. 

           Claude did participate in a Zoom training meeting for the Communications Council. 

Monday, June 26th, At Home

         We started our morning with a biscuit run. One can get really stir-crazy when one can't do very much. You start to feel better but you can't lift things and you really don't have much desire to do things. Getting out of the house helps with that. We got our biscuits and then drove to the park by the creek and sat until Claude was ready to come home. 

          When we got home, Claude laid down for a nap. I went to Sandiland to work on my laptop. I looked out the window and immediately realized things were not right on our patio. I went out the back door and found this. It appears the thunderstorms toppled over our table with the umbrella, the four chairs and the two planters. I went out to see if I could pick all this up. 

I couldn't help but notice that, even in this mess, there was beauty. There were flowers on one of my hostas and a beautiful mushroom sprung up beside one of the petunias. There is always a positive, even in the midst of a lot of negatives.

Claude still has a lot to do to be fully recovered. But we are very happy with his progress so far. He even fixed shrimp salad for our dinner!!

Serving Others...

This week my thoughts have been on serving others. I tried to watch for all the ways service is given and received. I tried to notice what I perceived as service. Here are some things I noticed about service during the past week.

Monday, June 12th, Jon Zimmerman, our former grass cutting person, came to our home to take care of the boxwood bushes under the study window of our home. We had some very cold weather this winter. Many of the boxwoods in Georgetown suffered or did not make it through that cold. The three in this part of our front yard suffered the most. The one in the corner was almost dead. Jon sent out a message that these boxwoods that were severely damaged would probably not come back, even with time. He offered a special price to take each bush out. I called and we set up for him to come Friday the 9th. That didn't end up working. He came early Monday morning instead. The first two pictures are of the bushes we would have removed. 

The next two pictures are after the removal of the boxwood bushes. 

How can this be a service if we paid Jon to do this? First, we were thinking the bushes would revive over time if left to just regenerate on their on. Jon's message helped us to understand this is not the case. Second, Jon trimmed and removed the ivy in our back yard trees after we moved in. He cut our grass for two summers. We know he is honest and would treat us fairly. After Jon cut the trees and removed the stumps, I asked him if he could help me understand about trimming the tree in our front yard. He explained we could do it anytime and showed me where to trim up to on the tree. He gave freely of his knowledge. He charged us less for taking out the three bushes than his original quote. I understand we paid him, but he served us in an honest, friendly way. 

Tuesday, June 13, 2023, Claude and I went to the Louisville Temple in the evening. This is serving those in our family who have passed from this life by performing earthly ordinances that they cannot do for themselves. We are grateful to Steve Gulbrandsen, my brother-in-law, who has done all the research to get these family names for us. He has served us greatly doing this most important work. It was a most moving session for me. I learned much. Interesting, since I have been going to the temple for 53 years. I love serving my family by attending the temple in their behalf.

Wednesday, June 14th, Claude went to Georgetown Community Hospital to have pre-op bloodwork and tests completed. We really wanted to get out and about. We found a great way to do that and serve our family at the same time. Our daughter, Andie, and her family are headed on a big family vacation to Italy and Greece. They usually borrow our suitcases. I sent her a message asking if we could deliver them to her in the afternoon. She was very happy with getting them. She also asked about our adapters. We got four suitcases and the container with the adapters and drove them to LaGrange. We enjoyed a nice visit with the Marx family. This helps them be a bit more ready for their big journey and also gave us a productive excuse to be out and about. We treated ourselves to our big meal-of-the-day at Mark's Feed. 

Thursday, June 15th, we experienced two acts of loving service. Our Church has a Bishop's Storehouse in Indianapolis. This is a place filled with foods to be given to those in need for whatever reason. A family of six in our congregation needed food but had no way of getting to the monthly drop off of food in Louisville at the Louisville Stake Center. Claude and I volunteered to get this food for them. It requires an early rise for us and all of the morning to drive to Louisville, get the food, returned to Lexington and deliver the food and then get home. This sweet lady was so appreciative of the help. It was nice to be and do this with my hubby. Grateful for the men who drive the big refrigerated truck from Indianapolis to help those in need all the way in Lexington, Kentucky. 

In the evening, we were the recipients of service. Claude has surgery scheduled for Monday, June 19th. Thursday evening, our Bishop, Bart Barber, and our Elder's Quorum President, James Hollen, came to our home in the evening and visited for a bit. Then they gave Claude a priesthood blessing. It was a very tender moment. This act of faith will help sustain us as we begin the journey Claude will be on with surgery and recovery. So grateful for that understanding and belief in our lives. Grateful these very busy men took time to visit and then give a blessing to my hubby.

Friday, June 16th, we were up very early for us, 6:30am. We were on the road by 7am. Our destination was Morehead, Kentucky. This was the sky as we left in the morning. Beautiful. It was like a blessing for a good day of service.

We arrived at the County warehouse, which was generously loaned to us for this service project. A truck full of non-perishable goods was delivered the night before to the warehouse and set up for distribution.  I noted the quilt pattern on the outside of this big warehouse. I thought how a quilt is made of many pieces. This morning of service was also made of many pieces working together.

Samone Ratcliff is our Just Serve coordinator. She set all this up. This is her description of what happened. (Samone is the lady on the right side of the table at the entry.)

"This is what collaboration, cooperation, and community looks like.

• 38,444 pounds of shelf stable food donated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• 14 plus counties receiving assistance in Central and Eastern Kentucky
• 13 separate agencies, each working to meet emergency food needs plus-
• 9 different religious denominations who provide the same to the communities they serve
• 2 county governments stepping in to lend a hand and
• 1 absolutely awesome group of volunteers! 

On Friday, June 16th, these fine folks, and others not shown, gathered in Morehead, Kentucky, some traveling from as far as Lexington and Louisville, to unpack and distribute a semi-truck load of non-perishable food items, by hand, to bless and feed a great swath of Kentucky. The food will be a blessing to many but perhaps the greater blessing is the folks you see in the picture, who, though they wear different hats and walk on different paths, still strive for the same goal: “to lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees”."

What a pleasure to help across all kinds of boundaries in this way. The food need is great in this part of Kentucky. Every little bit helps.

Saturday, June 17th, we got up and went to work getting the yard completely mowed, trimmed and blown free of grass and clippings. I planted 10 petunias to hopefully get some hummingbirds to come to our back yard. I always love when we work together in the yard. Claude taught me how to use the edger. It was a good morning.

We came inside and got cleaned up. While sitting for a bit, the Amazon delivery person came to our door. I brought the package in. It was a Father's Day gift from our first-born, Nissa, for her father. Claude opened it and I got these pictures and sent them to Nissa. This show of love and care is the best service any child can give to their father. I loved this so much.

In the afternoon, our sweet friends, Laura, Jessie and Howard Carter, had invited us to their home to have lunch with them. These friends have served us well time and time again as we have prepared for Claude's surgery. This warm, loving meal with them was just what any doctor would have ordered. The truly amazing part was that Laura chose to make lasagna. Father's day would be Sunday. We went to Montana Grill for an early Father's Day meal of steak for Claude. As we drove home, I mentioned to Claude that, when I think of the perfect Father's Day meal for him, I think of steak or lasagna. Laura had unwittingly made the other favorite meal of Claude's. We enjoyed their homemade ice cream. It is so good to have friends who care and give so freely of their time and love to us. 

Sunday, June 17th, is Father's Day. One of the sweetest moments for me was when the congregation sang "O My Father". My father loved this hymn. When dating my mother for the three days before they were married, he sang this hymn to her. She looked at him and said, "That is what I believe!" She would join the church and remain strong and active all her life. This hymn was sung at my mother's funeral. I felt especially close to both of my parents as I remembered their story of finding each other and the role this hymn played in their relationship. Sure made my Father's Day a bit more special. 

I come to the end of this week and realize that, to me, service is caring, helping, and  remembering others. Sometimes you are the giver. Sometimes you are the receiver. It happens when given freely. It can happen in a kindness when being paid for work. It has been good to think of and recognize all the many times in a week that service is a part of my day. This is a good thing to be aware of and be grateful for.

Now for a few "Memory Odds & Ends":

Katelyn and Joel. He had his arm around her neck and would not let go. If she tried to move away at all, he held her tighter. This boy loves his Momma!

Rachel and Paul had a friend take pictures of them. Paul is our grandson. He and Rachel have been married a whole year. 

Friday, Claude and I drove to Lexington after the morning unloading the truck. We determined we would have an early Father's Day dinner for Claude. On the way, Claude pulled up beside this car. I did a double-take. Please note their antenna is a 'fishing pole'!!

We enjoy a yummy meal at Montana Grill. They serve bison. We really enjoy this place. I noticed my soda was sitting on a coaster with a quote on it. Really thought it was worth remembering and sharing.

While working in our yard on Saturday, Claude asked me what was growing on our clematis vine. He said it looked like it was giving birth to baby Donald Trump's! It is really where a blossom has been and then falls off. Our clematis vine is covered in these little golden balls of flower as well as the newer purple blossoms. Really interesting

Bailey was invited to go to Florida with her boy friends family. She had a wonderful time with Jake and his family. Our girl is growing up!

It has been a good week. We have tried to fill it with good things before Claude is out of commission for a bit. 

Thoughts from This Weeks Journey...

Been thinking about my Blog this week. I have gotten into the habit of listing the days, then posting the pictures and happenings for each of the days. This is a good way to record ones life. It is how my mother did it but her journal was pencil and paper, she did not have the blessing of computers and phones that took pictures. However, this week, I feel I want to share more of my feelings about the happenings in my life. It will still fit in the order things happened. 

Great Grandmonsters: I LOVE them. I am forever grateful for cellphones that take pictures and media that allows us to send those pictures immediately. I love seeing these little nuggets in our life and how they are growing and what they are doing. Memories of my kids flood back. Memories of my grandmonsters flood back. 

I remember writing letters on paper, putting them in the mail and knowing in a few days my parents would know what was happening in our lives and with their grandchildren. I remember have a roll of film in a camera. You really wanted to take all the pictures before you developed them. That might take months. Film and developing were expensive. Then you had to be sure you ordered the right amount of copies for the right person to receive them. It was all a process. It felt very good to be able to do things that way. Now, I take pictures of everything. EVERYTHING. When my podiatrist cut part of my toenail away to prevent the constant problem with an ingrown toenail. I took pictures through the entire process. My poor doctor was verklempt to say the least. But it was my toe and my dollar and I wanted a photographic history. I am also very intrigued by the things people do that I don't know how to do. Like laying carpet in our home. Photographed every bit of the process. Putting in a tank in our back yard. Photographed the entire process. Cutting down trees in the back yard. Photographed the entire process. 

Katelyn posted this picture of our Raelyn. First grade and she had perfect attendance. How cool is that. She was able to get a book for this honor. Love that she is having some good experiences in school. These are the foundation years. Make them good so she will continue to enjoy learning throughout her life. I love to learn things. Don't want to go to school. But I love to watch documentaries and read about places to which we will travel. I love to learn in my own way at 72 years of age. My hope is Raelyn will find her groove in the learning process and keep it up throughout all the years of her life. 

I woke up on Wednesday, June 7th, of this week and got in the shower. When I got out of the shower, I went to the mirror to brush my teeth and blow dry my hair. I was very surprised to find my eye was extremely red. Yes, I took a picture! For a couple of reasons. First, to have a history. Second, if it turned out to be a problem, I could show this picture to my doctor. It was not a problem for me. It didn't hurt. I really didn't know it was there until I looked in the mirror. In fact, I went to Walmart and didn't remember my eye was that red. I always smile and say hi to people, even if I don't know them. I believe the world can use all the cheer we can throw at it. Several people smiled back. When I got home and looked in the mirror again, there was that red eye. Now I wondered, were they smiling back at me because I smiled or because I had a big red eye looking at them. 

Gramma Hands: When my mother had full-blown Alzheimer's, my father sold their home in Louisiana and they moved to Kentucky in order for me to help with her care. I went to Louisiana and spent time cleaning out their home. My sister came for a few days and helped. We carefully divided up my mother's handmade Christmas ornaments so each of her three daughters and all of her 14 grandchildren would have some things made by Mimi's hands. There were crewel pictures on her walls and quilts she made or crocheted. All the treasures were carefully spread among her girls and grandchildren. Some were set aside for her to enjoy in what would remain of her life and for Papa to have for the remainder of his life. When my father moved from his apartment to the nursing home, I went through his possessions and divided them among family. One request was for pillows made from his shirts for each of the my kids and grandmonsters. I did that for them. When Claude's mother passed, his sisters, Tami and Lynette in particular, went through all her things and, again, carefully put them in boxes with each of her six children's names on them. We were each given things from Bonnie's life that would remind us of her and the love she had for her family. That is what these things are really. A reminder of the love of that family member for the rest of their family, the impact their life had on another family members life.

While we were in Michigan for the blessing of Kennedi, Katelyn asked me how to make a tooth fairy pillow. When my kids were at the tooth-pulling age, I made each of them a tooth fairy pillow. It has a little pocket on the front into which the child puts their tooth. They lay it by their pillow when they go to bed. It makes it easy for the tooth fairy (in our family's case Erma Bederma) to take the tooth and leave a quarter in its place. When my grandmonsters came along, I made each of them a tooth fairy pillow. Katelyn has a fond memory of that and wants her kids to each have that memory. She wanted to know now to make them so she could provide them with that memory. I tried to explain it to her. She doesn't have a sewing machine and would need to do all of this by hand. I have a sewing machine and much more discretionary time than Katelyn. I offered to make it for her. I came home and purchase a fat quarter of quilting material. There were five colors of fabric. I sat down on Thursday, July 8th, and made five little tooth fairy pillows. I had bits of trim for each one is my things. I also had all the stuffing and thread needed. Now, each of my great grandmonsters will have a tooth fairy pillow made by their great gramma's hands. Hopefully, it will build a memory for them and they will feel the love this great gramma has for these precious little ones. (Purple for Raelyn, Green for Nelson, Pink for Emelia, Blue for Joel, Yellow for Kennedi). Now, if something happens to me, I have left a little Gramma love with each of my great grandmonsters.

Achievement: We all have to work to achieve next levels. They don't just happen usually without some effort on our part. Depending on the thing we are trying to achieve, the struggle to get there can be very real. Katelyn sent this picture of our Kennedi sitting up. On my goodness. She is so very tiny. Look at those little arms and legs. But she was sitting up, I'm sure Katelyn put her there, Kennedi is looking to her mother for encouragement, approval and all that mother love. This is a picture of Achievement! What a lesson for me as my body starts to ache with every move. I can still achieve. I must be willing to make the effort!

Friendship: Thursday evening we invited Brad and Ali Manwaring over to dinner. He is going to work with Claude on the Communications Committee at Church. They needed to do a little talking about that and answering questions as Brad learns what to do. A great excuse for dinner together. We made tacos and sat on the patio to eat. Our back yard is such a perfect place to be on a nice evening. No humidity. A nice breeze. Loved every minute with these good people. Conversation was easy. We caught up on our families. They have five children and I have taught several of them at church. It is important to have friends in this life. I am grateful for good friends and getting to spend time with them. 

Ups and Downs of Life: Friday, June 9th, was another of those Blue Days for me. They come and I have learned to just ride them out and know that a better day is ahead. They help me to appreciate all the days when I feel good and enjoy life. Those blue days make thinking of the blessings in my life a little harder. Every evening I write at least three things I am grateful for during that day. Blue days, you must dig a little deeper and you find those blessings. You realize, even in the struggles, there are blessings, things to be grateful for. I was able to practice the organ. I will get to do that one other Sunday this month. I entered the church alone. It is quiet except for me and the organ. I played through the hymns for each of the two Sundays. I sang all the verses for each hymn as I played through them. The words spoke peace to my weary soul. Then I practiced through an entire book of prelude music. I was probably sitting at the organ practicing for about and hour and a half. As I finished, I put my music in my bag of church music. Put on my shoes and started to walk from the organ to the back of the chapel. I'm still alone in that building. I paused in the aisle and said a prayer of gratitude to my Heavenly Father. My parents sacrificed a lot for me and my sisters to take piano lessons. It was important enough to them that we had music in our lives that they gave up many things they wanted, and probably needed, so that we could take piano lessons from Mrs. Arlene Herring. I love that they acted on something they knew was important, not easy, but important. I thanked my Heavenly Father for loving, giving parents. I thanked him for the ability to play and the opportunity to play. I asked him to make me better than I can be on my own at playing so the spirit can teach those in sacrament meeting through the words and the music. I felt his love and that my prayer was heard, appreciated and would be answered. It was a blue day. But it was also full of goodness.

Friday evening, I suggested to Claude that we go to dinner. He was happy with that idea. He understands and is patient when I have these days. We went to McAlister's and had a lovely dinner together. It was the perfect ending to my blue day. Time with the person I love most in this world. Yes, I am richly blessed.

Time Together Takes Many Forms: Saturday Claude and I would work the yard together. I had not done a thorough weeding since April. I had pulled weeds when I was outside and saw them, but not a good fill-a-bucket with weeds kind of thing. While I weeded, Claude cut the grass and blew the trim off the sidewalks and driveway. He loves that part best. He is great friends with the leaf blower. It is like dessert at the end of a meal for him. When we finished, we sat on our patio and rehydrated. I love when we are both out working the yard at the same time. I loved it when we were in Sadieville. I love it now that we are in Georgetown. 

We would shower and then go to the Tropical Smoothie Café for a smoothie in the afternoon. These are so very refreshing. We took them home and sat on that lovely patio and listened to a cacophony of birds in the trees. They were really chattering away. So grateful for quiet time in our back yard. It is like a garden and feeds our souls. Lots of work to get it there, but the rewards are well worth that effort. 

In the evening, Claude purchased tickets for us to go see the Florence Yall's play baseball. We enjoyed this so much. Claude loves a burger and hot dog at the ball park. I enjoy the nachos. Our team won. It was a good game. We enjoyed a pretzel during the 8th inning. I took pictures of the field (first two pictures), the kids running the field with the mascot cheering them on, and Claude was amused at the measurement for centerfield being in inches! Great date night for us. 

This day was important to us. We enjoyed an entire day working and playing together. Claude will have surgery on the 19th and will be out of commission for a bit. It was fun to get these things in before he has to spend his time and energy recuperating. How grateful for a good man in my life. We are neither perfect, but we are willing to work at this marriage for eternity. So grateful that after 53 years, we still really enjoy being together best.

Goodbyes: The Roper family has had Julia Carvalho living with them for this entire school year. Julia is from Brazil. This was her senior year. She has fit right in with this family. Raelyn and Emelia have had a big sister. Julia has done all the things seniors in the United States do their senior year. She has been a part of the Roper family and that makes her a part of all our family. I know there will be a hole in this home for a bit that will fill up with those four kids. But, the experience of having someone from another part of the world, share their way of life and traditions and learn your way of life and traditions will have a lasting influence of each of the Ropers. It may be a goodbye. But it will not be a forgotten. 

Single Moms: Our Aubrey is a single mother. She loves Nelson with all her heart. Aubrey has had a lot of struggles in her life. She is trying really hard to get it all together. She has a new job and is working hard to build that career. She has achieved some really good goals in this process and in her personal life. Very proud of her hard work. She posted this picture of her and Nelson. I love it. Their expressions are priceless. Keep up that hard work and achieve your goals, Aubrey. 

Today is Sunday, June 11th. It has been a good Sunday. I played the organ and loved every minutes of that opportunity. Austin Holt reported on his mission. Richard Risher gave a wonderful talk about violins and the Touch of the Master's Hand in our lives. I played the piano for Primary. Claude and I enjoyed a nice meal at Fazoli's. Claude has had a good nap. I am finishing my Blog. We are waiting for a severe thunderstorm that is supposed to come through this evening. Right now the sun is shining brightly. In preparation for this rain, I put on my baggy jeans and a big sweatshirt and flowery socks. I'm ready to snuggle into our home for the evening.