Monday was busy. First Jessica was feeling better but Hadlie still seemed sick. Juan was at the hospital with his mother. She had a perforated bowel that needed emergency surgery. The surgery was a success but she'll be down recovering for awhile.
Second, Kathleen had an appointment with the orthopedic/sports medicine doctor to see what could be done about her knee pain. He said that she had osteoarthritis and not Rheumatoid arthritis which was a blessing. The doctor explained that she needed to have an MRI to see if there was anything going on in her knee that would be an easy fix. They scheduled her for the next day. Monday night was a celebration for Vinay's birthday. He was surprised that it was suggested but pleased also.
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Vinay, Samuel, Rebekah and Stephen enjoying dinner
at OCB. |
Stephen chose to go to Old Country Buffet in Federal Way. There was a huge line that came in right after Rebekah, Samuel and Vinay made it in line. Kathleen and Stephen had to find their way through the crowd of Developmentally disabled folks from Auburn. It was 3 bus loads of people.
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| Samuel is next to last on the Right. |
Tuesday was the MRI at noon. It's a huge magnet inside a machine. They put you on a special table that slides into the machine and you have to hold completely still for the whole time that you are in the machine. They do have braces to hold you down... They also put on earphones and have music going through because the machine is noisy like a jack hammer. It was quite revealing. Kathleen almost panicked even though it was just her lower half in the machine.
That night the KentLake Bands had their spring concert. Samuel was in the 2nd group that played. The first two songs were very discordant, not sure if that was purposeful or just this band. The last song was a type of March that the kids really enjoyed and it sounded so much better.
Wednesday, Kathleen taught 2 Corinthians 4-7, two lessons in one. The youth actually taught the lessons but she had to prepare the information for them to teach. There was a lot of information left out that would have been good but there was little time. Later that morning Kathleen had another appointment with the ortho doctor. He gave her the results of her MRI. She has a meniscal tear and 3rd degree arthritis. He said that they could probably do arthroscopic surgery and remove the meniscus but that would leave bone on bone and probably be worse than just leaving it. He recommended having a total knee replacement if the pain was not helped by draining the knee and putting in a different type of cortisone shot. She choose the shot and left with a bandage on her knee.
That night, Kathleen had her first Master Gardener meeting for the new clinic that she will be working at in Maple Valley. The meeting was at the MV library by Lake Wilderness from 6:30 to 9:00. It was educational with new material as well as managerial. Samuel went to YM and did some Family History looking for names to take to the temple. Stephen had his regular stake meetings.
Thursday Stephen headed to work and Kathleen cleaned up the house for a few hours before she had to take a nap. Getting up at 4:30 every morning for Seminary is challenging. After an hour nap, Kathleen got up and drove to the temple for a session and then made it to Deseret Book to pick up a book that she had ordered earlier. She made it home just about the same time as Samuel got there. That night Kathleen went to the stake center thinking that there was a RS meeting but there wasn't. She was off by a week. Getting old is such a trial, but at least her knee was feeling so much better. Stephen had a meeting at the stake center to set apart the newest member of the High Council.
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| Adding herbs and veggies to the boxes. |
Friday Stephen left early for work since he had an appointment with the finance guy about taxes. Kathleen had to go to the hospital and show them her NRP card that proved she passed her Neonatal Resuscitation Program Course. She also took some little baby beanies/hats into the birth center and some OB Nursing magazines that come regularly to the house. On her way home she stopped by Carpinito's Garden Center and purchased some broccoli, savoy cabbage, brussel sprouts and Sweet onions along with flowers to put in the garden. After Stephen came home they both spent time in the yard. Planting and cleaning up and Stephen mowed the lawn. It really looks nice now.
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| A nicely mowed lawn. |
Friday night was a family movie night with popcorn and the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Rebekah came over and she and Kathleen watched the movie and Stephen and Samuel mostly slept in their seats or on the floor.
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| Waiting around for the prize drawing. |
Saturday was General Conference. It was a beautiful day and great talks. What a wonderful uplifting day. There were several talks that focused on the Plan of Salvation and the doctrine of the Godhead. Others focused on being kind and living a Christ-like life. During the Priesthood session, Rebekah and Kathleen drove with Sr. Winona Laird (Kathleen visit teaches her) to Deseret Bookstore by the temple for Ladies Night. They have free gifts for the first 100 people to come to the store and then every 15 minutes they have a drawing for prizes. It's always fun to go whether you get a prize or not but Kathleen has won 2 grand prizes from earlier years and this year she won the grand prize again. What a surprize! They might not let her come back any more...lol.
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Grand prize a statue of Christ holding a lamb
in porcelain. It's new. |
Sunday was wonderful with more General conference addresses. The announcement of 5 new temples was so exciting. One more in Utah, another in Pocatello, Idaho, one each in Manila, Philippines, Kenya and Brazilia, Brazil. How very exciting to hear from President Monson as he stressed the importance of reading the Book of Mormon. That Book is the keystone of our religion. On it hangs the reality of the living gospel restored in these last days. If the Book is true then Joseph Smith is a prophet. If it was not true then he was a genius far beyond the capabilities of Einstein to craft such a literary novel that has such impressive timing, sequence, doctrine and historical accuracies that were not known of in his day. A man with a 3rd grade education, who was described by his wife as not being able to write a constructive sentence could not have written that book. The Book of Mormon is the work of prophets inspired by God to write their history and teachings and then translated by the power of God for us to learn from and learn about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is what it says it is. Another testament of Jesus Christ for our day. We are so blessed.
Thursday was the commencement addresses in the Marriot Center but they didn't start until 5:00 so it was a late day. It was decided to take the graduation pictures early that day so it was over and done with the pictures by all the "special spots" on campus. The weather was breezy and cold. Very cold. The speakers were excellent. President ??? spoke on the word "awful" and how the meaning has changed from many years previously. Originally, it meant to be full of awe and he told the students that he wanted them to be awful in that context. It was an exceptional talk. Then the other speaker was a Baroness from England who has worked with the church in bringing needed services to refugees and the poor around the world. She had some great remarks about the church and the need to do more. It was a very good speech also.
That night Stephen, Kathleen, Michael, Sarah and Michael's brother and sister-in-law and Michael's Father went to Tuscano's for dinner. Since it was the birthday month of both Stephen and Kathleen, they each got a free meal and only had to pay for two meals. It was great! The food was wonderful. Lots of fruits, vegetables and plenty of freshly grilled meats of various kinds. The grilled pineapple was exceptional.
