Thoughts and Feelings

Ok--I have just written a post and then totally lost it. This is when I hate my blog..or hate computers or hate anything technical...which just lets me know I am still incompetent. I started this last night, and then Spence needed the computer...so here I am, trying to make it work again. Hopefully, I won't lose everything I write this time.

Last night was our annual woman's broadcast from Salt Lake City. It is always good--about an hour and a half of talks and music. It is always inspiring. But last night's particularly touched me. Dieter Utchdorf, who is a man who serves as a counselor to the president of our church (whom we consider a prophet), spoke. He has a very good way with the women--seems to be able to relate to them and understand them. He has a gift for that. He touched my spirit so much last night...and said things that I needed to hear. He talked about the forget-me-not flower and how it has been significant to him for many years. It has 5 petals, and so he had 5 different things that he counseled us to do. Since I can hear things and think they are really important, but then forget them almost immediately after, I will share FOUR of the 5 things that I remember that he said. He talked about being compassionate with ourselves. He said we often are compassionate with others' weaknesses, but are not with our own. He counseled us not to compare ourselves with others--such a problem that I think women especially have. He told us to be happy now--to not be looking for that elusive thing that is going to make us happy, but to be happy right now. He also talked about sacrifice--and how it is good to sacrifice, but sometimes we sacrifice for the wrong things. We need to make sure that what we sacrifice for is really the "better part." He concluded by affirming that our Father in Heaven knows us, loves us and cherishes us. Tears came very easily through that talk--I know that he was the instrument of my Father to talk to me...and I'm sure to many others. Afterwords I got a text from my daughter, Kelsey, who was also deeply touched by that talk. How grateful I am for inspired leaders, who are so in tune with Father in Heaven that they can give us the message that we need right then. I truly felt the love of Heavenly Father when he spoke. Now, if I can just remember that things he said, and use them in my daily life. :) Have a good Sabbath day. With my love, Louise

Happy Birthday Mom Price!

If my wonderful mother-in-law had lived, she would be 90 years old today! She was an amazing woman and had an incredible impact on our whole family. So today I would like to pay some tribute to her and to the effect she has had on me. She was my cheerleader, and always believed in me. But that was a gift she gave to so many others, as well as me. She didn't let people feel sorry for themselves, but she encouraged them to do better and to improve themselves. She always made my children feel like they were special to her. They loved her very much. I remember one birthday for our daughter, Emily. She gave Emily 20 one-dollar bills, and with each bill that she handed her, she told Emily of a quality that she admired in her. It was such a wonderful thing to watch, and meant so much to Emily--definitely a treasured memory. She was cheerful and positive, and although I am not like her in all those qualities, I certainly can admire and appreciate them. She saw the good in people. She laughed easily, especially at herself, and she found fun in just about everything. So, today I pay tribute to her--may we all be a little more like Mom Price, a little more compassionate, less likely to judge, more inclusive of everyone, and more grateful for all the little things. She is an example for us all, even now, many years after she has passed from this life. I am thankful to be part of her eternal family, and know that for all of us, when we see her again, it will be a glorious reunion. Thanks, Mom Price, for all the memories, and for your tremendous example...and for just being YOU. Your legacy definitely lives on, and we still think of you often, and want to be more like you. With much love always, Louise and all the Price family

Fun Family Fotos!

It is now over a week after I last wrote. I have just been editing some pictures, so I thought I would share them with you...and share some of my sweetest blessings. I am thankful for my family, so I'll show you some pictures of some of them. A lot of them come from our wedding weekend. I am still blown away by the fact of all that we could do after having such a horrendous year of bad health--the wedding, a new grandchild (and one more to come in just a little more than a month), a remodel of our home--wow, we have so many things to count our blessings about. The greatest thing is to be able to be with people and do things with them, and to enjoy my family...and have life come back to normal in most ways. My daughter, Kelsey, is doing wonderfully up at school at BYU--what a great experience it is for her! Brady, our youngest, is working on his Eagle Scout project--a big undertaking, but such a great chance for him to learn about being a leader.

I am taking a quilting class--such a fun diversion for me. :) I do love making things, and I am thankful I can take this. It is a class at my sister-in-law's store, and she has beautiful fabrics and fun classes. I love making something that doesn't come undone (that's the problem with cleaning and cooking--you just have to keep doing them, and someone is always making them come undone).

Well, now for the quick explanations of the pictures--of course, the 2 boys on top are the stars of our family--Logan, who is 2, and SJ, who is 4 months. Such cute boys! Then there are pictures of me and Spence with SJ. Logan is totally in love with his Aunt Kelsey--and loves to be with her. Brady misses his buddy, Kelsey, but is still doing well with high school activities and other things. (He still has his mom to tease, and he does it ALL the time!). The picture of Michael, Emily and SJ is from the wedding--they all looked so cute, especially SJ, with his bow-tie! Then the final picture is of Katie with her two nephews. We take a lot of pictures of those 2 boys, and enjoy our time with them. Well, there is a little catch-up of what we're doing. Have a great day! Love, Louise

Darn Dumping Problems

I really can play the glad game most of the time these days--after all, look at me--I am like a totally new person from the person I was a year ago. However, there still are some remnants of my disease that aren't my favorite things. One is the infamous "dumping syndrome" that I've told you about before. I try to be so careful in what I eat and when I eat...but I still have these moments where I go into hot flash mode, and experience dizziness or lightheadedness. I have to be where a fan can blow cool air over me, and then I must eat something or I feel very weak and vulnerable. This happened to me Sunday night, and then again tonight. On Sunday it was our monthly fast Sunday, where we fast for 2 meals. I hadn't done it for months, but Spence and I talked about it, and decided that I could at least fast breakfast, and then eat lunch before I went to church. I don't think that settled very well with my body, because that night I had my typical reactions. Spence knows to move me into one of our bedrooms, where the bed is very close to the fan, and the cool air seems to help me "heal" faster. He brings me crackers, and usually something to drink to help get my blood sugar more normal again. It takes about 20-30 minutes, and then I am feeling more myself again. It happened to me tonight--I got dizzy as I was talking to a good friend on the phone. I get kind of weird too--kind of delirious (somewhat)--my son, Brady, lets me know when I start talking a little bit weird! My reactions are usually related to something I ate--either I eat too much sugar, or I eat sugar when I'm already full...or I just plain eat too much. I do wonder when I'll really figure this out--I may go for 2 weeks with no incident, and feel like I'm all better, but then something happens, and I throw off my eating patterns...and I'm having problems again. It really is so minor compared to other things I've had to deal with, but it is something I need to get better at so i can overcome it.

I am thankful I can do so many of my old normal things. Today I helped with the luncheon for a funeral--it is so nice to be able to help in that way. But even so, I find that things like that totally exhaust me. I came home, and was resting for a good part of the afternoon. But I am able to work out several times a week, and I am definitely getting stronger. So many things to be thankful for--just need to keep working on getting used to the "new plumbing" in my body!

We're Back! Take 2

This is the second time I have done this post. I did one on August 31st, and never could get it to post--I did it on my laptop, and am hoping that doing it on my regular computer will work better. Otherwise, it will be a well-known fact that I am more than technologically challenged--I am deficient! So here goes the second time around...
Well, it is about time for me to write again. What a crazy August this has been! We spent last week in Utah getting Kelsey settled in for school. We had a lot of driving, and a lot of places to be...but we survived, and Kelsey is now in school, and hopefully learning to adjust to all the big changes in her life. Starting school is a huge transition, and our hearts and thoughts have been with her. BYU is a big campus, and there are a ton of people there. There is a lot of walking to classes, there is the adjustment of getting used to the altitude, so many things. It is an adjustment for us too--Kelsey has been such a big part of our family here in Arizona for so long, so we really miss her too. I will put some pictures in so you can see this great place where Kelsey lives.It is a dorm, but it is more like an apartment--they have a kitchen and living room, two bathrooms, and 3 bedrooms, and lots of storage. It is awesome, and it is brand-new.

We now have 3 of our 4 girls living in Utah. It was important to Kelsey and to us too for us to see the other members of our family. So on Wednesday, the day we were moving Kelsey into her dorm, we also drove to Logan (about 2 hours from Provo), to see Katie and Cody, our newlyweds. We had so much fun seeing them. They are living in a made-over barn (it is divided into 4 small apartments) which is so typical of them...but they have made it look really nice. I will also try to put a picture of them in their place. We brought them some of their wedding presents, and then we went out to Taco Bell--one of our favorite fast-food places! Then we drove to Clearfield where Emily livews--about 45 minutes form Logan. She drove down with us to Provo, so she could help Kelsey move in. Kelsey really wanted to be with her sisters--it made it a long and tiring day, but it was worth it to be with everyone. Kelsey just loves her sisters, and that was one of the reasons she wanted to go to school in Utah, so she could be closer to them. (By the way, we LOVE being with our daughters too!)

There were a lot of freshman orientation activities. We spent more time getting Kelsey settled in, and didn't get to all those activities...but she was very happy to get herself organized and settled in. She started school on Monday, and seems to be doing all right. We are thankful for phone calls, and texting, and even SKyping with her--all those things make her seem like she isn't that far away. :) During all this activity, I had some energy lapses--at those times, I would let the rest of my family bring Kelsey's stuff up to the 4th floor...and I would veg out on her couch or on her bed--I think sometimes I use my past sickness as my excuse to get out of work. My family still babies me at times...and I guess I like it, because I let them do it! :) Well, we are back home now, and are working on putting our house back together--still trying to recover after our remodel and the wedding.

OK--let me explains ome of these pictures. Spence, Cody and Katie are sitting in their living room on their brand-new couch. The LOVE wall is opposite the couch, and if you can tell, it has pictures of them on it. They have done well putting things up and displaying them in their house already. Then, the cute picture of Emily and Kelsey is in Kelsey's dorm room, in front of her closet. There are no doors on her closet--but we figure they planned it that way so maintenance wouldn't have to be fixing broken closet doors all the time. Aren't my girls so cute? I am going to put in one more picture of Kelsey's kitchen--it has so much storage and looks so modern. Anyway, now that you have plowed through this long post, you deserve to give yourself a treat, or do something fun. :) Thanks for being interested or at least for reading. Love you lots, Louise