Quotes of the Week

Each of us...needs to stop and think, Jesus Christ died for me. Jesus Christ thought me worthy of His blood, and He loves me. He has hopes for me, and He can make a difference in my life. His grace can transform me.
--D. Todd Christofferson

Today our Savior desires that what we do and who we are becoming will invite others to come, follow him.
--Gerrit W. Gong

Charity is accepting someone's differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn't handle something the way we might have hoped.
--Marvin J. Ashton

Missionary Weddings; COVID-19 Test Before Lung Testing; Father's Day

Our date night consisted of Texas Roadhouse take-out.

Then we ventured out--way out--away from home. We went to a wedding reception in South Jordan. It felt a little like we were going on a trip because we stay pretty close to home these days.

Glen wanted to check out his independence and I warily consented to go with him, always having the fear of coronavirus in my mind whenever I leave the safety of our sterile environment.

There were 6 foot paper markers outside the venue. Everyone was wearing masks.

Kailey Quist, one of our former missionaries, and her new husband Will Crismon were the masked bridal couple. We got there a little early and were able to give our congratulatory good wishes and get out of there before too many other guests arrived. I felt like we had not been invaded with the deadly virus on that excursion.

The Excell family Friday night entertainment was going to a drive-in. Looks like a whole lot of family fun!!!

Saturday morning I had to get a COVID-19 test done. Glen was quick to point his thumb my way indicating it was me and not him who was there for the test. 

We were told to pull up to the registration station.

Then we were directed to Tent 2.

A space-suited nurse (complete with a hose in the back of her headgear pumping air into her completely-enclosed mask) came over to my side of the car.

Just as I was getting ready to open my mouth for the swab, she pulled out an enormously long nose swab. I yelled, "NOT A NOSE SWAB!!!!!" I have had that done to me 3 times in the past and it is NOT a fun thing to experience.

Glen started laughing his head off. When he had his COVID-19 test done before his surgery, I was overcome with glee thinking about him experiencing the dreaded nasal swab. Then he was told to open his mouth for a throat swab. WHAT?!?!???

How could this happen??
Glen -- throat swab
Me   -- expecting throat swab but got nose swab (for the 4th time in my life!!) (actually 5th swab--read on...)
NOT FAIR!!!!!!!

Double NOT FAIR when she tried my right nostril, pushed it almost clear up to my brain but couldn't get it all the way, so she pulled it out and put it in my left nostril.

Once she reached the inner recesses of my head, she held it there and counted to five before pulling it out. YUCK, YUCK, YUCK, YUCK, YUCK!!!!!!!

When we were leaving the Farmington Health Center, it was disturbing to see a fire on the mountain.

The Goldens came to mow the lawn and pull weeds. Of course we had to reward them with Madison's favorite lunch--Costa Vida.

We had a garage-ambience lunch as I was told to isolate myself from other people after having the Covid test done until I had my lung function testing a few days later.

It is always enlightening to get a glimpse into Brooke's mind.

Our next-door neighbor Julie is in the midst of a big outdoor project. Her back steps and cement patio got removed. Lots of her yard got dug up in preparation for pavers to be laid for a patio, porch, walkway and fire pit. 

The workers sure worked hard over there for several days. They also blew up a lot of dust in the process. It was actually very entertaining to look out the kitchen window and watch the progress.

Glen felt an overwhelming need to attend Joey Kiehl's wedding. I stayed home in isolation. Glen went off with his peg-leg. Here comes the bride--Natalie.

I have to give Glen credit for remembering to take some photos.

I was happy I had the chance to meet Natalie on a previous occasion. This wedding was in American Fork.

From there Glen drove way north to Honeyville for another wedding celebration. It was held at the church building that has the marker monument of Glen's great-great grandfather Abraham Hunsaker. 

He served as the first bishop of Honeyville for 25 years. He had five wives. Glen's father comes through his first wife's line, Eliza Collins.

The other side shows the names of all of his children. 

Allen Collins is Glen's great-grandfather. Ben shares his birthday. 

Zach Gunn had brought Mekenna to our missionary reunion in October, so I was able to meet her then.  

Another Sunday was upon us, but not just any regular Sunday.

 It was Father's Day. The doorbell rang. A treat had been dropped off.

It was a candy bar from the ward for all the fathers in the neighborhood.

We got the biggest kick out of the worksheets Sarah's boys filled out about Glen. So darling!!! Notice the cast on Glen's foot on Eli's drawing.

With church, phone calls with the children, and a phone call with my dad, it was a very nice Father's Day. 

The results of my COVID-19 test came back negative. No surprise there!!

My few days of isolation came to an end when I went to have my lung testing done at the University of Utah Hospital. These signs on and inside of the elevator made me laugh. How is it even possible to keep at least six feet from others inside an elevator????

I was happy to see a plate of treats on our porch when I got home. Kim Cowley had borrowed a fan from us and had returned it along with a plate of goodies. It was perfect timing as I was hungry since I could not eat for several hours before my lung testing.

Let me make note of a delicious treat dropped by our home another day. It was a warm, freshly-baked loaf of cinnamon bread from Great Harvest. Bill and Jan Evans brought that over to us. I forgot to take their picture, but I can still imagine the tastiness of the yummy bread.

I had a telemed appointment with my pulminologist to go over the results of my lung function testing. It amuses me that in his written report, this doctor always uses the word "odd" in regards to my case. He wrote, "Her flow volume loop continues to demonstrate an odd shape." 

Despite my oddity, he said there was a slight improvement since last testing. He still feels like it's asthma and not the COPD diagnosis the pulminologist in California gave me, so that is encouraging. He told me to stay on the heavy dose of my Advair inhaler. 

I think allergies are playing somewhat into my breathing difficulties. I have been religiously taking Zyrtec every day. The doctor told me to do better on my nose inhaler Nasacort. He also wants me to watch the air quality and make note of it each day along with what I eat, what I do for exercise and how my breathing is each day.

I had a rough couple of days and then the last couple of days it has been easier for me to breathe. I am hoping I get to the point where I don't even think about needing to take deep breaths. 

It continues to be a joy for me to go out walking in the mornings--more joy on the flat land or downhill than uphill. But, when I plod on ahead, going up the hills, breathing heavily and trying to fill my lungs, I find myself being rewarded with beautiful views of the valley.

We went to Josie Dalley's outdoor wedding reception in Alpine. We saw Steve and Kim Radford and Carol Sweetwood (some of our senior missionaries) and Crystal Walters (a young missionary) while we were there. We also saw a man and his wife we recognized from the mission. They live in Encinitas and are an uncle and aunt to Josie.

We learned that both Josie and her new husband Jonathan Blodgett had COVID-19 at the same time. They got engaged while they were quarantined with the virus.

Dallas and Rebeca have taken their family on a vacation to Yellowstone National Park. Brooke selfie documented that they saw Old Faithful.

Quotes of the Week

Without clear spiritual vision, our potential is limited. Just as clouds can obscure our physical vision, the darkness of disbelief can cloud our spiritual vision, making us hesitant to step out and move towards the grand possibilities for which we were designed.
--Jean B. Bingham

Just as reading and learning about muscles is not enough to build muscle, reading and learning about faith without adding action is insufficient to build faith.
--Juan Pablo Villar

I promise that when you begin to catch even a glimpse of how your Heavenly Father sees you and what He is counting on you to do for him, your life will never be the same.
--Russell M. Nelson

Maggie's Bridal Shower; Wedding Season Is Upon Us

My niece Maggie is getting married on Ben's birthday! A bridal shower was held at her Aunt Bonnie's home. It was actually held out on Bonnie's front porch.

Rebecca and I rode together and were some of the last to arrive. Fortunately--there was no more room for us to squeeze in with the group, so we sat on some rocking chairs on the side porch and could do much better at social distancing from our spot on the porch.

We were very impressed with the way the food was served. The meat and cheese wrap sandwich was wrapped in saran wrap. The fruit cup was covered with saran wrap. The vegetable and dip cup was covered with saran wrap. The chips were in individual packages. The candy bars were individually wrapped. 

The only thing not wrapped were the cupcakes. Knowing Amanda made them had me throwing coronavirus caution to the wind and eating one anyway. They were pretty fancy with a pie shell cup, jam covering the bottom, and then the cake and frosting. 

It was nice to have an outing and be able to see some of the extended family once again.

We had our weekly home church. We almost had a catastrophe involving Glen's wardrobe. I like us to match and had him wear his brown suit to match my brown skirt. He said it was a pretty tight fight for him to be able to get that huge cast into the pant leg. 

Glen enlisted my help to get his pants off that leg at the end of the day and I didn't think it was going to happen. I tugged and pulled and maneuvered the pants until I thought the only option would be to cut them off him. But, determination paid off and he was finally free of those binding pants.

WHEW!! No more wearing the brown suit for him until he gets that big cast off his leg!!

That's the reason this guy is opting to wear loose-fitting sweat pants every other day of the week.

I enjoyed so much the rule Sarah implemented when she started homeschooling her boys. They have mandatory outside time every day. 

Sitting outside on our front bench for a few minutes every day has become mandatory every day for us if I have any say in the matter. Fresh air does a recovering-from-surgery body good!! 

Look at handsome Spencer. Brooke decided to help him comb his hair over so he would look cool. 

Face masks are the rage these days. Madison has figured out how to attach the mask to her stuffed animal.

Looks like the Golden family will be wearing their masks more than ever at Lagoon with this new ruling. Rebecca said initially Lagoon only required them to wear their masks when they entered the park.

Speaking of masks...whoever would have thought we would be required to wear masks while attending church??!!?? 

Ben's ward and Rebecca's ward met for the first time on Sunday. Our ward is scheduled in 2 weeks. I asked about Brooke, wondering why she was not in the photo.

I have been going to some doctor appointments this week--one of which was the dentist. 

It doesn't seem very welcoming when there is a big STOP sign on the door telling everyone they are not welcome until they are escorted inside by a member of the staff after many questions are asked and temperature is taken.

I was happy to see the hygienist and dentist were wearing masks, glasses and full face coverings. I asked the hygienist how things had been going with the COVID-19 shut-down and then reopening. When I asked her if she was scared, she said yes as she deals with spit and stuff spewing on her all day.

The big plastic guards protecting the receptionist are interesting as well. I was happy to see all the precautions in place to protect Mike Bronson and his office staff. As a patient I felt protected as well.

Since extra people are not allowed inside doctors' and dentists' offices, Sarah used Gatorade to keep Jonah happy outside while Eli was in the orthodontist's office. 

Imagine waiting in the summer heat in Las Vegas! Looks like it did the trick to make this little guy happy. Or at least he was happy when they got back home.

Speaking of hot places (with humidity added on top of the heat), Abe and Klarissa have been house hunting while they are in Florida. This is the winner house of the day. Just waiting for updates as time goes on whether they actually buy a house or not.

Abe shared some Magnus pictures from the photo shoot they had with him.

This is evidence that the wedding season is upon us! I had just mailed out some of Sarah's books and then got more invitations in the mail. It's hard to keep up with them.

 We received a sweet thank you postcard in the mail from one of our sister missionaries.

Not only did she appreciate Sarah's book, but she also included a sweet thank you to Glen confirming his inspiration in one of the areas he assigned her to work.

It's a blessing for a missionary to serve. It's a double blessing when their dedicated service leads them to their future spouse. And it is a blessing for us when we learn how an inspired decision was divinely designed to bless lives.