January Bumps, Bruises, Eyes, Knee, Deer, Ordination, Birthday Friend

Mom's month of January began with a bang when she had a fallen arch foot injury and had to wear a big boot around for a while. 

That news did not make us happy to hear as she was already experiencing a lot of pain in her right side waiting for doctors and various testing to be done to help her know how to deal with her liver issue. 

She still hasn't gotten any definitive answers on her course of treatment. 

I guess Dad wanted in on the sympathy action as well when he took a nasty tumble running an errand for Mom. It happened at a hospital. When the workers saw him, they urged him to go to the emergency room and get checked out. 

He didn't want to do that, but later in the day Nani took him to another hospital where he got x-rays, had no broken bones, and only needed stitching on his little finger. He had quite the bruising on that hand.

The next day we went to check on the folks and walked in to find them looking like this. 

Dad had been icing his hand and was supposed to keep it elevated. Mom was experiencing spasms in her back and could get a little relief by using a heating pad. Sheesh!! These two!! 

But, I must admit they were looking as beautiful and handsome as ever despite their ailing body parts. 

We knew how to cheer them up. Chick-fil-A is speaking their language! It speaks Glen's language as well. 

Now look at me without my glasses, squinting to try and see the camera up close... Also notice the "readers" I have hanging around my neck on a chain...

I had just had cataract surgery--my left eye done one day and my right eye done the next day. 

It has been a HUGE adjustment for me to now be able to see distance so clearly, but not be able to see up close at all. Such the opposite of what I have been used to ever since I got my first glasses in early elementary school. 

It was frightening to think of the procedure, worrying about going blind. 

I have to admit that when we walked out of the doctor's office that first day, wearing my surgery sunglasses, and I could see trees clearly on the top of the mountains and everything was crisp and clear to my view, I shed tears of gratitude. 

When I saw this picture hanging up in our stake center, I got emotional once again. I had experienced my own modern-day miracle of having my sight miraculously healed.

Glen has been so kind to let me use his glasses in this interim period until I can get my own prescription. His work so much better than readers because they are clear at the top. That way I don't have to keep taking glasses on and off and on and off and on and off. 

He got new glasses during all this, so it has worked out perfectly for the both of us. His prescription has not changed at all. His vision is so perfect with no cataracts or other problems. What a guy!!

Speaking of healing... Rebecca's big toe has finally quit pussing and the scab is gone! She wore a Sunday shoe to church for the first time in months and months. What great news!!!

And then there's this guy... Glen's knee has really been bothering him for quite some time--especially when he kneels down. 

Then one day he was going down the little hill in the backyard to fill the birdfeeder to feed the squirrels birds when he slipped and fell, hurting that knee even more.

The doctor had him get an MRI which showed no need of surgery. He has a fracture in his shin bone but that shouldn't be causing any pain. It could have been there for a while.

He has some thinning of the cartilage and that's probably putting pressure on nerves which is causing pain. There's a small tear in his meniscus, but that should not be causing him a lot of pain. 

She suggested a cortisone shot (OUCH!!) and then we'll see what it feels like in a couple of months.

So far he's felt a little relief from the pain, but it still hurts like crazy when he kneels down or puts any pressure on that knee.

Let's just say we are all doing better than Matilda. We discovered her under our deck. Dead! 

Once Glen referred to the deer as a "her," I decided to name her. She was part of our life for the better part of a week. 

When Glen called someone to come get the deer, he was told it might be a while because there were a lot of people ahead of us. We don't know if it was because of the exceptionally long cold spell we had been having or what, but other people were finding what we had found.

Each day we would check to see if the removal people had come, and were so happy the temperature was below freezing all the days she spent under our deck. 

Finally, after nearly a week, Ben was here for a visit and I had him walk around to the back yard to check and Matilda was finally gone! 

We love seeing all the deer in our backyard and this death made us sad. 

We went from below freezing for weeks on end to now exceptionally warm and windy weather the last few days with the temperature in the mid 60s. Crazy warm for early February. It sure has quickly melted what snow there was lingering on the ground. 

There was snow at the beginning January, but hardly anything after that. 

Despite the lack of snow in the valley, Spencer, Carson and Eli were still able to take weekly snowboarding lessons. A school bus hauled them up the mountain so the parents did not have to make that weekly trek.

It's time for another school dance. Here are the askings and one of the answers.

We were invited to Spencer's ordination to the office of teacher. Afterward Glen was showing him his priesthood line of authority.

I can't mention the month of January without mentioning Jan Evans. Her birthday is in January. But, she always emphasizes she likes to celebrate her birth MONTH and not just her birth DAY. So, what does she do but invites our whole friend group couples to her home for a lovely dinner party. 

She didn't stop there. She presented each of the women with a bouquet of flowers. Love this friend of ours!! She is such a giver!

We had the couples birthday celebration dinner and then we had a ladies luncheon birthday celebration as well. What a wonderful group of friends. And we were all so color coordinated with purple and blue.

Diane wasn't there because she and Grant got stranded overnight at an airport back east with all the horrible weather grounding lots of flights.