Resurrection

6 weeks post surgery tomorrow.

My last post was three days before I went into surgery on December 17.

Before I went in, we became aware of a very bad outcome for a woman in our ward at church who had the same surgery I was going to have in the same hospital. She is still struggling and our prayers are with her and her family. Her experience motivated me to make prior arrangements to avoid a blood transfusion in the event of lost fluids. Needless to say, my stress level was heightened for a while. The Priesthood blessing I received before surgery was a tremendous help.

Tom stayed with me most of the time I was in the hospital. The nurses brought a cot in for him to sleep on both nights. Him being there made the whole process much easier. I was able to secure a hospital release about 44 hours after surgery. I really didn't want to go back very soon, so elected to remove the staples myself three days later. They came out almost painlessly.

Riding in the car as it goes over road bumps is right up there with laughing and coughing for things to avoid after abdominal surgery.

The struggle to get back into the routine of things, has felt like crawling out of my grave. 17.5 years ago when Heather was born by C-section, did not feel like this. My resurrection process has begun.

Jesse & Aleina came to visit for a few days in early January. It was so enjoyable to hold baby Orrin for hours on end. Newborn babies are good for the heart and soul. They have so recently left Heavenly Father you can't help but feel the influence of another sphere of existence.

Yesterday was my first day back at Hot Yoga. I felt weak and was unable to complete any of the balance sequences. I lost muscle tone during the recovery process. Vertical knee to chest movements were easier, however. Muscle tone & strength in my left arm are especially problematic.

I joined Weight Watchers last weekend, and decided to do it online to keep it simple. I got a reality check looking at my measurements. It appears that my body decided that if it was going to spend so much time sitting on it's backside during recovery, that it deserved some extra padding. It's time to send a different message.

After a while, watching movies and reading/listening to books begs for a change of activity. A future blog will contain a book list with a brief review.

I bought some yarn and began crocheting baby blankets. We have had 4 grandchildren born since May. So far, no new announcements. Back at work, I noticed that there are a lot of mother's to be. It's been fun making baby blankets for them. The count is up to five teachers who will deliver before the end of June.

The Ten Virgins

One of my favorite inspirations from the scriptures is the parable of The Ten Virgins. It holds deep personal significance for me. Our stake Relief Society is doing a musical presentation of this parable in early February. I was asked to sing the part of Leora. Her song is...

By my Lantern Light

Evening lights retire one by one.

Tired eyes are setting with the sun.

But surely as the day is done

Some walk in shadows.

Faces that I've never seen before,

Some I've known so well I can't ignore

Their voices calling at my door.

Lost as the wind blows.

And by my lantern light

deep within the night

Trav'lers turn to me with weary eyes.

Brilliantly it glows

like a sky composed

Of stars that glimmer as the darkness grows.

Bringing hope, giving life.

burning brightly by my lantern light.

I would give ev'ry tiny part

ev'ry hidden corner of my heart

to mend a world that's torn apart.

healing the aching

Reaching out, something in my soul

cries out loud

Not for me but so much more

for those who wander in the cold.

Trembling and shaking

And by my lantern light

deep within the night

Trav'lers turn to me with weary eyes.

Brilliantly it glows

like a sky composed

Of stars that glimmer as the darkness grows.

Bringing hope, giving life,

burning brightly by my lantern light.

And should it fade away.

its ashes turned to gray it's not too late.

For ev'ry fire that dies

the sun won't fail to rise another day.

And by my lantern light

deep within the night

Trav'lers turn to me with weary eyes

Brilliantly it glows like a sky composed

Of stars that glimmer as the darkness grows.

Bringing hope, giving life

burning brightly by my lantern light

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeBYxpGbJbM

The sound quality isn't the best on this recording, but you can get aa feel for the song.

Time to Pause

I haven't written for a while. There have been so many transitions, new challenges and revelations that have changed my reality, I am breathless trying to keep up.

This fall we lost part of our music program and I was transferred to 3 new schools to fill in the gaps. Whenever you enter a new school, it takes a lot of time and effort to establish new relationships. This takes much longer and is more complicated when there are three schools instead of just one. Good working relationships are essential to accomplishing the job of teaching children. I have found that while professionalism involves taking the higher ground, there are those who choose a different path. Going into three new buildings is rather like walking into a minefield with a blindfold on. Eventually, you're going to step on one..or two before you figure out where the safest path is.

I'm currently guiding my little dingy through a bay that has been mined and I don't know which way to go. Indeed, my current view does not yield a positive outcome. I can't remain still because the tide keeps moving in and out. I have found it expedient to request a local Special Forces unit to guide me to a safe location where I can continue to serve. The new holes in the dingy are keeping me busy until help arrives. After I get to shore, I plan to look for a watercraft that's more seaworthy. I hope there's one available.

Above all, I put my trust in the Lord that things will work out as they need to. He has always been there for me when I need him. Most especially when I open the door by asking him to be there. When I am experiencing another difficult life lesson, I usually don't understand why it has to be so dang hard. I'm sure this could have been accomplished another way! It's later that I begin to understand why it had to be the way it was. Sometimes I never know why, but I trust that the understanding will come when I'm ready and need to hear it.

Next week, I will be admitted to the hospital for surgery. When I first found out about the necessity for this procedure, I wasn't happy. Why couldn't the timing have been in the summer? I don't work in the summer. Now, I thank the Lord for his tender mercies. The extra time off will allow me to rest and mentally prepare for that which is to come.

Master, the tempest is raging! The billows are tossing high!

The sky is o'er shadowed with blackness. No shelter or help is nigh.

Carest thou not that we perish? How canst thou lie asleep?

When each moment so madly is threatening A grave in the angry deep?

Master, with anguish of spirit I bow in my grief today.

The depths of my sad heart are troubled. Oh, waken and save, I pray!

Torrents of sin and of anguish Sweep o'er my sinking soul,

And I perish! I perish! dear Master. Oh, hasten and take control!

Master, the terror is over. The elements sweetly rest.

Earth's sun in the calm lake is mirrored, And heaven's within my breast!

Linger, Oh, blessed Redeemer! Leave me alone no more,

And with joy I shall make the blest harbor And rest on the blissful shore.

This may take some time, but I'll let you know when I get to the shore, and discover exactly where that shore is. :) Or, if the dingy sinks, you'll all be hearing from Tom.

America The Beautiful

I teach Elementary Music. This is what happened today in one of my 3rd grade classes.

We were learning/reviewing patriotic songs (America, America the Beautiful & The Star Spangled Banner) in preparation for the Veterans’ Day Program. As an introduction, we discussed why we sing these songs and what they mean to us. To help the students understand, I focused on the words related to freedom and explained that not every country enjoys the freedoms that we do. i.e. in some countries girls are not free to go to school, only the boys. How are education and freedom related?
One young man on the back row expressed his excitement about the possibility of being treated so special. He thought it was a really cool concept. Power to the boys! Then, the young lady next to him started crying. She said she remembered how it used to be in her country, how scary it was. She’s from Afghanistan. We listened to her. I asked him if he thought it would be a good idea for the student next to him to be in a place where she couldn’t go to school. He said no. We all agreed that it was good to be in a place where everyone can go to school. Taking away someone else’s freedom/education is not a good thing to do. Education can help us to keep our freedom. Being free allows us to become more educated. Powerful stuff.
When we sang the Star Spangled Banner, a student from Mexico raised his hand and said that this song makes him cry, and he feels it in his heart. The friend by his side agreed with him. I told them that sometimes it makes me cry too.

I love this country and I love teaching music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RssIN3ustUw

Count Your Blessings: Recounts are OK

This school year had a whirlwind beginning. In my job, I work between three schools teaching music classes. Because of budget cuts/net job losses, many of us had our work sites rearranged. I was pulled from all my schools, and put into 3 new schools. The change was tough. There were many tears as I left behind staff & students I had worked with and learned to love. There was only a long weekend to gather supplies from the old schools and reestablish in the new before school started, and that weekend I was out of town for 3 days. I have not yet accomplished the task of integration... my van is full of teaching supplies and now looks worse than Tom's car, full of his work stuff with no room for people. I'm still waiting for an office/desk ...they say it might take a while....

Two of my classes are with autistic students. They struggle with transitions and loud music. We share a bond.

In the mean time, I developed a case of bronchitis and am home resting, trying to avoid catching pneumonia.

Blessings I'm Grateful for:

Since I can't be grateful for staying at schools where I was established and known, I can be grateful for the welcoming attitude in the new schools where I now teach. I am grateful to have a job. I am grateful to still be teaching elementary music, which I love. I am grateful for wonderful family members who treat me with kindness & love while I'm sick & take care of household business.

I'm grateful that the deal to sell our out of state house is almost done. It's been a major drain on our finances for years.


I'm grateful for the knowledge of the gospel and the ability to attend the temple. There is an incredible peace found in that holy place.

I am grateful for the wealth of knowledge/understanding that has come my way, as I pray for the ability to meet challenges, and to satisfy this yearning deep in my soul that tells me to ask more questions so that the doors that I need to walk through can be opened. I am grateful for friends who share this desire and open their hearts to me.

This life is so short.

Faith & Works in Progress: Part 3

The last few weeks have marked the end of school, intense trips to Oregon to get the house ready to sell and lots of overtime for Tom. He's been putting in some very long days. The money is great, but he is tired.
When we checked our stats. We found that we were almost exactly the same for the last six weeks. We didn't gain or loose in pounds/inches. I did go down one more percentage point of body fat, making that a total of a 5% fat loss for me. I also began a vegetarian diet the week before school let out. It's a summer phase. The Word of Wisdom (Doctrine & Covenants section 89) suggests that going without meat in the summer would be a good idea. So, I'm doing it to see how it works out for me.
Tom bought pants two sizes smaller, and they're now a little loose. He no longer looks like some of these young gang banger Wanna Be's. Working outside, he is handsomely tan & increasingly more lean. So, with this third session largely on a plateau, we have regrouped and are redoubling our efforts to begin the next six week session. See you in 6 weeks.

Tomisms and other Family Frazes

When Tom & I first began to spend time together, I noticed that he had some very colorful vocabulary. By colorful, I don't mean blue language...but rather idioms unique to him/his family and/or American Cowboy dialect. My kids had never heard many of these phrases, so we began a project called Tom's Dictionary. It's a living document, as we are still finding,adding and creating words & phrases to write in it. It began with Tomisms but we're getting many entries that didn't originate with Tom.

It's not in alphabetical order. Every family unit creates some phrases of their own unique to them. Feel free to share. I'd love to see them!

And we begin....drum roll....cymbals...silence...microphone buzz....

Nunya: 1) Nothing or none of your business. What you you mean what color are my under wear! That's nunya! How many? Nunya!

In there like a hair in a biscuit: 1) Very closely associated with 2) tightly situated, difficult to remove. They really like his work at that company, he's in there like a hair in a biscuit.

Colder'n a wedge: (colder than a wedge) 1) very cold. I need my long johns, it's colder'n a wedge out there.

That's a pain in the Tom: 1) difficult or unwelcome task or situation. It's time to clean the gutters again. That's a pain in the Tom. Hey, somebody used my toothbruth to clean the tile in the bathroom! "What a pain in the Tom!"

Temporary Joy: ...."Hey Tom, what are those rabbits doing? Paco's experiencing temporary joy, I think he's had enough, why don't you send him back to his own cage. ref. Heather's rabbit.

Butt Crack of Dawn: Very early in the morning. The sun wasn't hardly up, they got up at the butt-crack of dawn. (And weren't very thrilled)

Daylight in the Swamp: Time to get up in the morning. The sun is high enough to get into the low part of the valley. "What time is it?" "It's daylight in the swamp - roll out of bed!"

Bazooms: (bossoms) 1) female protuberances. My, her dress was a bit low, her bazooms were falling out all over the place.

Swammich: 1) a dish prepared with food (usually meat) between two slices of bread. " I had a turkey swammich for lunch."

Since Hector was a Pup: 1) a long time ago. "I haven't been there since Hector was a pup. (1980)

MR: 1) Them Are 2) They Are) MR ducks, MR not ducks. OSMR. CM Wangs.

OSMR: "Oh yes, them are."

Degredients: 1) items joined together to make a finished products. ex. ingredients to make a cake. I need to buy degredients to make a cheese cake.

It's cold enought to freeze the balls off a brass monkey: 1) It's extremely cold. Back when they had cannon balls on the ships, they stored the canon balls on a plate with divits for the balls to rest in. It was a triangle shaped plate bolted to the deck near the canon. the balls stack pyramid style. The plate was called a monkey. In cold weather, the monkey would contact and the balls would roll off. they discovered that if they used brass to build the monkey, it didn't contract as much. so, only in the most extreme cold weather, was it cold enough to "freeze the balls off a brass monkey."

Itch: 1) alternate for 'to scratch'. "Itch my back!"

Smiles: 1) substitution for the word mile. How many miles 'til we get there dad? 50 more smiles!

More bird: 1) a request for 2nds at holiday time, specifically TURKEY. Aren't you full yet? Heck no, more bird! More bird: Oh no, I'm too full. OK more bird!

Hysterical sites: 1) historical sites. 2) places of interest with historically significant events/places/people associated with it/them. On our next trip, we plan to stop by and visit several important hysterical sites.

Destructions: 1)alternative word for instruction. 2) a 'how to' list. 3) On christmas Eve, dad is sittin' in the family room with a pile of toys still in the boxes, each with their own destructions to help him put them together. Hey mom, how do I get this thing put together? I don't know, maybe the destructions will help.

Tonies: 1) alternative word for pony (small horse) While driving in the car - looking out the window - Hey, look at all them tonies!

mookies: 1) short for Moo-cow or cow. Look at all them mookies out in the field!

turn right: example; "Hachtel left." Turn right at the next corner, no, your other right. I turned left, I mean a Hachtel right.

turn left: example Hachtel right; Turn left up there at the next light. OK, let's try again when we drive around the block. No, your other left! We didn't need to go there anyway, did we? Note: The origin of this idiom is disputed and under discussion. Grandpa Hachtel claims that it was imported down stream in his line...

Steep as a cow's face: 1) extremely steep. A cow's face is close to straight up & down. If you don't understand it, just look at a cow. Self explanatory.

Mountain Cows: 1) cows that are specially bred with short legs on the left and long legs on the right so they can graze on the face of the mountain and not fall off. "That can't be true daddy, there's cow's facing both ways on that mountain! What you see there children are left handed mountain cows and right-handed mountain cows. It's very important to have equal numbers of each, so the grass gets trimmed going both ways......Oh.

Bull Goose: 1) the head goose. When looking at geese flying in the V formation in the sky, the bull goose is the one at the point of the V - in charge of the rest. They all follow him. Look at that bull goose flying up there. He won't stay long, the drag of the other geese will tire him out soon.

Dang (darn) Yahoo: (courtesy of Grandma Betty) A yahoo is a worthless young man hanging around trying to date your daughter. A dang/darn yahoo is a yahoo who was particularly objectionable or persistent. "That darned yahoo showed up when you were't here last night. Why don't you tell him to get lost?"

Description of a Yahoo: sloppily dressed, poor manners, blue language.

Big Ben, Parliment, Tower of London - repeat...repeat...: 1) a term used to describe repeated missed turns, so you see the same sights repeatedly, ref. National Lampoon's European Vacation. Driving 'round in circles, trying to figure out where to turn to get to where you're going. Look Kids, Big Ben, Parliment, Tower of London - repeat...repeat...:

Giant Marshmallows: 1) large white objects left in the fields in Oregon when the farmer is done harvesting his hay. "Look kids, giant marshmallows!" Those aren't marshmallows, they're too big. That's why we call them GIANT Marshmellows. The farmer hauls them to the marshmallow factory where they get chopped into bite sized pieces & sealed in plastic bags & sold in the stores as treats. Roberson import.

If you don't stop that you're going to be walking around the a hand on the top of you head with a knot underneath. (Pat Douthit's dad Bill)
self explanatory.

You're breeding a scab on the end of your nose: reference to any activity likely to cause damage to ones' body or face. To a child, climbing on top of the swing set. "You're breeding a scab on the end of your nose!"

What part of NO don't you understand? You don't have to explain yourself. No is a complete sentence. No.

Off like a heard of turtles: 1) moving very slowly. 2) late getting started 3) behind scheduled activities 4) reference to chronic procrastination. Roberson import

A Diller a Dollar a ten o'clock scholar what makes you come so soon, you used to come at ten o'clock and now you come at noon.

Grat'is the Gift 'at God 'er geist, to see ur silves uz others seeist: Grandpa Ralph (Sandi's paternal grandfather), Scottish ancestry. He would say this with a thick Scottish brogue at many an opportune moment... (Great is the gift that God has given us, to see ourselves as others see us.)


No rest for the wicked and the righteous don't need it: Grandma Colleen (Sandi's mom) 1) sitting down on a work day is a no win situation, 2) Get up and get moving No you can't take a nap, there's no rest for the wicked and the righteous don't need it. Implication, if you're living/eating right, you'll have the strength to make it through the day without napping. i.e. What have you been doing that you need a nap?