LIVIN' LARGE IN MESA!

Okay . . . so FINALLY (hooray!) I can see! Got my new glasses yesterday- sunglasses and regular. Walking out of the eye center was kinda surreal. I haven't been able to see anything clearly for months! The cataracts were in the way for a while, then (after the two cataract procedures) everything was out of whack until both eyes healed up and the swelling went down. But, now!, glory be! The world is clear and gorgeous again! I will even recognize people at Church tomorrow. . . (sigh of glee and relief)

Denny had his last PET scan a few days ago. We will get the results when we see our oncologist, Dr. Fastenberg, on Thursday. Denny goes for lab work on Monday. We have no reason to expect any bad news. He has been out of chemo now for 21 months, with no sign of any return of either cancer. We are aware, of course, that either one of them could return at any time, but we have complete trust in the Priesthood blessings he received. Denny's work is not yet finished on this earth.

I saw our Orthopedic Surgeon on Thursday. He took x-rays of both knees, and said everything is looking terrific. YAY! I don't see him again for a year. Having those four surgeries so close together (four -right hip TWICE! and both knees- in 6 1/2 months) was not fun, but now that it's all over- I'd do it again in a flash!

Denny and I are sooooooo looking forward to being called back as Ordinance Workers in the Mesa Temple. Our papers have been in the Bishop's hands for several weeks now, but no word has come to us. It's making me a little nervous. We were hoping to go back as soon as I could see again. Well, now I can see! But we have to wait on our Bishop, Stake President and the Temple Presidency. The call comes from the Temple President. We are both so anxious and excited to get back! We LOVED that calling- both in the LA Temple and here in Mesa. Of course, we can -and do- attend as patrons . . . but it is not the same.

Yesterday was Denny's Mom's 88th Birthday. We had a nice party for her at Denny's sister Jill's home today. A TON of family members attended! Jody, Denny's other sister (and Jill's twin) had asked us all to give her a letter to Mom- which she then put in a large notebook with cute stickers, etc. It was beautiful. Jody had decorated the front of the notebook too. Mom loved it.

It was great to see everybody!

We are looking forward to teaching our 16-18 year old Sunday School class tomorrow. They are great kids. We are team-teaching tomorrow, which is unusual. We usually divide the weeks between us: Denny teaches one week, I teach the next. But he has had to teach all by himself for several weeks due to my lack of visual acuity!!!! ;-]

That's all for today. Watch this space for more later!

WALKING LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!!!

OCTOBER 4, 2011

Soooooooo, it's been a loooooong time since I last blogged. Since my last post, I have had both knees replaced, Ali and Andrew got married in the Mesa Temple, Denny has passed two PET scans with clear results (WOOT!) and I have had two cataract procedures. My new glasses should be here within a week, and I can hardly wait!!!! The world has been out of focus for a very long time now. Dr. Martin said I will have 20/20 vision with my new prescription!

But the BEST thing to have happened to me personally is that I am now walking like a NORMAL person for the first time in years! I didn't love Physical Therapy, but it really, really helped! No more waddling back and forth like a duck. Yahoo!

Grandson Nick has been on his Mission in Pennsylvania now for over a year. He is doing an excellent job! He is a Trainer,and really loves it. His enthusiasm just pours out of his letters. He and his companion have several people to teach, with two baptisms scheduled for this weekend. His letters record what he calls "miracles"; and, indeed, they are. Nick is a "Fix It" Elder. His Mission President sent him to Pottstown, PN several months ago to clean up a big mess left by former Elders. They were breaking all the rules, turned the church members against them, and had to be replaced. Nick was sent in . . . and has really turned that town around! His personality is so vibrant and his work ethic is so good that the members have become the missionaries' greatest fans. After learning that Nick and his companion were truly good Elders, the members began to trust them. And NOW, the Ward members are constantly giving them referrals, bringing people to church, inviting the Elders to teach their friends in their homes, etc. Elder Nick says that they don't have to worry about the people they baptize, because the Ward members are already fellowshipping them! Amazing! What a turn-around!

Ali and her sweetheart Andrew were married on Dec. 16, 2010. He is attending ASU and working part-time at Best Buy. Ali works part-time as a school aide. They have been hoping for a baby since the day they got married, but nothing yet. They are very cute together! They have a new, tiny apartment about 10-15 minutes away from here.

Trevor is up to his eyeballs in theater. The boy LOVES to act. He is in 4-6 productions a year, I would say. He has been nominated for a Zoni (Arizona's "Tony's"), which is a great accomplishment. He is a very articulate actor- you can understand everything he says. That's just not true of most of the other youth actors. He just turned 16, has been ordained a Priest, and has been on his first date! Oh my!

Kristin is the General Manager of "Actor's Youth Theater". She does not do any of the creative stuff- she runs the business end to allow the creative folks to work their magic. AYT's biggest production was "Les Miserables" this past summer. It was terrific! In fact, the show won 10 Zonis, including one for Christopher for Set Design. ;-] Cool! She works many hours a week for AYT, and loves every minute of it. All of the kids there love her, as do the parents and the other people on the Board of Directors. They all admit that AYT would come to a grinding halt if Kristin had to quit. She really keeps things going.

Christopher works for General Dynamics. I'm really not sure what he does, but I know it has something to do with media. He travels the country making videos of things. I don't think he can tell us much. He is a marvelous husband and father, and we love him. He is also involved with AYT- with set design, recording the various shows, etc.

That's a review of things going on in our family. Later- MORE! ;-]