Shingles for My 59th Birthday

The first thing on our agenda when we got back from our Mission Presidents' Seminar in Seattle was going to the grocery store. We had a former missionary and his father coming to visit and Glen had invited them to Sunday dinner the next day.

One of the important things Elder Joel Urey wanted to do was get his bike and the surfboard a member had given him out of our mission storage unit to take home with him. He and his dad tried out the surfboard while they were here.

After they left, I was not feeling quite right. My neck had been itching all day long and I had noticed a bumpy rash on my neck. My glands felt swollen on that side. My neck and shoulder area were so extremely sensitive to the touch and the pain went deep into my body.

I was also experiencing shooting nerve pains going from my shoulder up into my head. I was feeling a little woozy as well. I was hoping to feel better in the morning.

Thankfully, I was not feeling woozy when I woke up. I was so glad I was going to the chiropractor that morning. He did some lazer therapy on my neck, my left shoulder and my left knee. Let's face it. My body was a painful wreck and I was hoping I would get relief after the chiro visit.

Glen and I like to walk through the South Carlsbad State Beach on some of our Monday morning walks. So off we went after my chiro appointment. It was kind of like a ghost town the Monday after Halloween. Not too many campers were there.

Some had brought their Halloween decorations with them.

Others left behind their Halloween decor when they left the campground.

I decided to use the scowling abandoned pumpkin to help portray how I felt when I started researching what I thought my problem was that I was experiencing. I took some photos of my rashy areas and sent them to our mission nurses along with a description of how I'd been feeling.

One of the nurses sent the photos on to our mission doctor, Dr. Neuendorf who immediately called me to confirm my suspicions. I had shingles. WHAT?!?! He called in a prescription for me to take for a week and emphasized if it started to get on my face at all, I was to call him immediately and he would change the prescription. Thankfully the rashes stayed confined to the spots shown in the photos. The ear rash made it look like I have a pierced ear. I do not! Never have! Never will!

We went to a baptism that evening. When I saw a small child was there, I went back out to the car and waited there while Glen attended the baptism. I was told I should stay away from pregnant women and small children until the sores scabbed over.

The next week we had another follow-up training meeting with this group of missionaries. Our mission Area Medical Adviser told me all the missionaries should have received a chicken pox vaccine, so it would be okay for me to be around them. I did have to refuse hugs from the sisters and tried not to shake hands with anyone if I could help it.

We were blessed to have a little bit of a calmer week that week so I could keep myself a safe distance from most people.

On Halloween we went for a walk at Oceanside Harbor. Glen changed the missionaries' preparation day from Monday to Tuesday so they could have an all-day p-day on Halloween.

We were laughing at the two guys on the water who were all decked out in Halloween costumes.

This is what my guy dressed up as on Halloween. Super Grandpa!! He spent the day reading and answering the missionaries' letters.

This called for me to remember the adorable artwork Brooke drew for Glen 2 1/2 years ago. It still makes me laugh now as much as it did back then.

Okay, since I am taking a walk down memory lane, let's have a little remembrance of one of our best Halloween costumes. I just loved the blue hair.

 Glen did not do as I begged him and buy Halloween candy that does not appeal to me. He bought a bag of candy with Whoppers in it because he loves those. With it came Reese's peanut butter cups and those were calling my name. It's like potato chips...no one can eat just one.

The day after Halloween found us in Del Mar for a specialized zone training meeting. Their stake is now on board with the rescue effort and the missionaries were receiving training about it. I love the training and I love watching the missionaries role playing an abbreviated Restoration lesson which they will share when going with members to visit less active members to help them feel the Spirit and invite them to come back and join together in Sabbath Day worship.

The Del Mar stake center is unique in that it has an open courtyard in the center of the building. It is a beautiful place to have parties and wedding receptions. It also was a great place to take a group photo.

We attended a district meeting in Temecula.

Sister Radford is at the front desk in the mission office. She is one who goes above and beyond the call of duty. She is the poster child for magnifying her calling. She loves to decorate the office with beautiful flowers, succulent plants and now a Thanksgiving decoration reminder to be thankful. We are thankful for her. And for her husband. And for all the other senior missionaries who help keep the mission running smoothly. And of course we are also thankful for the missionaries. Those in this mission and those around the world.

We were able to spend a few hours walking around Legoland for date night. We love the fact we found a place to park on the street that doesn't cost anything. It's not a very far walk to the pedestrian gate to enter the parking lot and voilá! We're in for a free visit!! With our season pass, of course. Which expires at the end of the year. So we're almost done going to Legoland. For free. I guess we could always purchase another pass next year. If we have grandchildren who are coming to visit and are going to Legoland. Time will tell. Until then, we'll take advantage of our free pass.

The Legoland Hotel has always looked so kid-friendly and fun.

Can't go to Legoland without doing the Fairy Tale Brooke ride.

There's Jack and the beanstalk.

Glen was doing his best to try and get the high score on this ride.

The Lego creations are amazing.

We always love to get our photo taken with whatever live Lego is standing around.

When Legoland closed, we went to have dinner at Coyote Grill in Carlsbad for a fall-off-the-bone ribs birthday dinner. YUM!!

Let's face it, by the time my birthday rolled around, I was happy to see the surprise birthday greeting stuck in our grass. But I was fed up with the shingles!! I was sore and aching and itchy! I just wanted to be done with them. I kept reminding myself how relatively easy I had gotten off with the disease compared to what some people have to suffer. Also, I wasn't getting the dark scabs on the sores like I'd seen in Internet photos. Lots to be thankful for As I scratched and scratched and scratched!!

I was certainly glad someone could see the humor in my predicament. My youngest brother Mark sent me a jovial birthday greeting. 

Something cute to brighten my day was a combination Halloween/birthday love note from Eli.

Oh yes, that Eli is adorable. So are his younger brothers Carson, Lincoln and Jonah. Sarah makes matching ties for her boys and frequently does Sunday porch photos. I love it when she snaps them wearing their Sunday clothes. This one was a treat with Jeff in the photo with his bunch of boys.

Here we are at the Carlsbad State Campground once again for our Monday morning walk. It was looking like a ghost town. You can certainly tell school is back in session and a lot fewer families are vacationing. At least this way we can see the ocean view better when we are walking.

At the northern end of the campground is a big enclosed area that can be reserved for group camping. We keep joking about when we no longer have a home to live in here, we will have to set up camp in Glen's favorite campground for our family vacations.

Glen's phone battery was running out of power way too quickly these days, so we had to go to the Apple store and get him a new battery. We were noticing the Christmas decorations being put up in that beautiful shopping area. Nothing like a Christmas tree right next to a palm tree.

One Monday evening our dear group of friends in North Salt Lake FaceTimed with us for Family Home Evening. It was fun to see all their faces once again and get to have a little visit with them. We love them dearly!

We love our friends, but we also love our missionaries. Duty is always calling each and every day. This day we were having new missionary training. Three of these sisters are visa waiters going to Sweden. They got their visas the day they arrived in the mission, but we ended up having them for a full 6-week transfer. 

The sister on the right was feeling terrible the day she arrived in the mission as she had a bad cold and was quite miserable. It has been nice seeing her feeling better and looking so happy and cheerful.

They are sitting under one of my favorite trees near the mission office entrance. It has pink flowers blooming pretty much year round. Love it!!