Busy Days

Wow, doesn't the time pass quickly? That's my excuse for not writing. My days are chuck full, especially now that mom is here. She is so sweet and patient. She has a dynamite therapist that won't let her slough in any way. He told her she has the muscle tone to walk and, in spite of all, SHE WILL! So he has been working with her and, what do you know, she is walking! It is halting and requires assistance, but she is on her feet and moving. It is a joy! She feels quite proud of herself.

Several mornings ago, as I was helping mom get up, she said to me, "You'll think I'm crazy, but Dad visited me last night. He cuddled with me all night." "How do you know it was him?" I asked her. "He cuddled me in his usual way", she said. It was a sweet moment and there is not a doubt in my mind that it happened. I feel sure that Daddy looks out for her on a regular basis.

Carmen's cancer is not gone, as far as we know. She has had one radiation treatment and one chemo treatment, so far. She seems to be hanging in and is a happy little girl. We have struggled to determine where to put our faith. Does the Lord want Carmen back, or can she be healed and stay with us? I think we are going to invest in healing. So we are putting our faith in that. We will see where that takes us.

Our Christmas decorations are up and we are almost ready for Christmas, I think. It has sneaked up on us so I feel a bit out of control. Actually, I feel out of control generally. All of our family will be here this Christmas, except Ger and Fran. I'm excited to have us all together. It would be perfect with our Taiwanese bunch.

Ben and Jes are all moved into their new home in Palo Alto. We are excited to have them near to us. Ben has started a new job with Mozilla. He's excited. Times are busy but with good things.

The picture at the top is mom walking with her therapist, Jim.

A new home for Ben and Jes

A New Home for Ben and Jes
We have had a wildly busy time since returning home during the Halloween weekend. Ben and Jes have been staying with us while looking for a home. They found one in Palo Alto and will be moving there this coming week. I had a ton of fun with the kids tonight. We played for a long time on the computer, drawing and taking goofy pictures. It is such fun to have the kids around. Jes flew back to Salt Lake to oversee the packing of their things for the move here. She'll return on Tuesday. In the meantime, Ben is here with us, along with the kids. It should be a busy and fun time.

Mom is doing fine. She is standing for longer periods of time and even walked with her therapist, Jim. Her goal while here is to be walking by the time we return her home. I worry that she might be bored some of the time. When we have lots of people around I don't have as much time with her. But she is such a sweet-spirited person and doesn't seem to mind. She enjoys the kids. She is, in general, such a noble soul and always such pleasant company.

The picture above is of mom relaxing in her motorized chair; Below are Ben and Jes on the left; the kids on the right, playing chess.

We spent a happy day with Reed and Dorothy also. You know that troubles seem to come in bunches. Carmen's cancer is back and Dorothy's kitchen feels like it is falling apart, all at once. Her dishwasher isn't working; the microwave quit and Friday the oven broke. She was just about at the end of her rope when we arrived Friday morning. Layne brought his tools and went to work, with the able assistance of Ben. Together they fixed the oven in time for us to bake 6 pumpkin pies. They fixed a couple of other things also. We had tons of fun baking, with the help of the little girls (Ben and Jes were there also). Carmen seemed in good spirits. How I hope we can get her a miracle and see her returned to health. She is such a lovely little girl. I also enjoyed a great visit with Reed earlier in the week. We had lunch together and talked quite a bit. I am warmed to see how well their family is functioning. They are a wonderful bunch.

So, even with this difficult year, we feel blessed.

A Busy California Household

It has been awhile since I've written. So much has happened! Layne and I flew to Colorado the end of October to pick mom up. We drove her home California in her red SUV. Ben caravaned with us from Salt Lake. He and his family are moving to California. We arrived home the day after Halloween to a full house. Ben, Jessica and their 4 children, along with mom and us, set up house in our house. It is a crowded, busy household! Mom is now pretty settled in the guest room. Ben and Jes sleep in the living room and the kids sleep in the study. It's crowded but it works. Ben and Jes are looking for a home near Mountain View, where Ben will begin working for mozilla in December. They are excited and it looks like they will be here for a couple of years, at least.

In addition to that we have had a couple of visitors. Brynn, our Mongolian daughter, visited last weekend. Daddy's cousin, Joan Galloway, her hub and son, also visited us a couple of days ago. It was great fun to spend time with them.

We are settling into something of a routine now, as mom will spend the winter here with us. We have some therapy going for her and she appears to be happy enough to be here with us. It is hard to leave home and friends and I appreciate her sweet nature and willingness to be gone from home for so long.

I find arranging pictures on this blog very frustrating. I can't seem to put them where I want them to go. But, for your information, the pictures are, from top left to right: William (Ben and Jes' oldest son), Layne and Brynn (our Mongolian daughter), Mom and Joan Galloway (daddy's cousin). The pictures at the bottom are, from left to right: Jacqueline and Alexis (Ben and Jes' two girls) and Zachary (Ben and Jes' youngest son).

A Colorado Weekend

We are in the midst of our longest visit with Mom. The days pass quickly, as always. Mom makes daily improvements and is even getting some of her emotions back.

Gerald and Frances came to visit over the weekend. Ben and Jes also came at the last minute. They stayed through the weekend and both families returned home on Monday. What a wild time we had! The kids frolicked through the house and yard. Mom loved it. She wanted to be in the middle of it all so she continued to relax in her living room chair and enjoy all the action around her. Ben and Jes' girls gave her an especially frequent amount of attention, trying to cheer and help her. Each evening we all gathered in Mom's bedroom for a family prayer. That was an especially warm and sweet time.

This past weekend was General Conference and Apple Fest in Cedaredge. Apple Fest is a yearly celebration of the apple harvest. The town turns into a festival of booths of all sorts. Food, including apples, are abundant as well as booths selling all sorts of arts and crafts, clothes, books and etc. The center of it all is the park, which was full of fun for the kids and offered live music by various groups throughout the day. It was cloudy, drippy and cool. All of us bundled up and went. It was lots of fun but the cold shortened our time there. I would have liked to shop through the booths but came home with everyone else instead. Layne was happy for that!

Sunday we watched Conference on the computer. All of us, kids and grown-ups, gathered in the living room to watch and listen. Ben set things up to work very well. The kids were quite good throughout the first session. They were playing together by the second session. All in all I think it worked fine. I'm grateful to be able to watch it all again on the computer whenever I desire. We live in a magical time.

By Sunday afternoon Alexis was throwing up. It was hard to call her really sick because she would be off to play as soon as her sick session was over. The kids checked out the calves in the pasture and played in the barn. By evening just about all the rest of the kids were throwing up and/or feeling sick. It was quite a night! Monday morning everyone left, with sick kids in tow, and the place fell quiet. We all missed the happy noise, even Mom.

It is Thursday now and we are once again adjusted to our peaceful days. Mom receives regular therapy from visiting therapists and our time fills up with care of her and general home duties. We don't see very many people except for the occasional visitor for Mom and the therapists. I like these peaceful days. Layne provides great help and wonderful companionship. We took Mom and drove up to the Mesa to see the color of the changing leaves. I was disappointed that we seem to have missed the peak color of this season. But it was still beautiful!

Pictures: top is Angelica, Jacqueline and William on the hay; middle are kids watching General Conference; bottom is Angelica, Jacqueline and Alexis with the calfs. Just above are the aspens on Cedar Mesa with Surface Creek Valley beyond.

Trouble for Carmen

Not long after arriving in Colorado, Dorothy called to say that doctors have found a new, small tumor in Carmen's brain. The cancer has returned! My heart absolutely sank. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I couldn't sleep all the following night. I was so invested in her recovery; I have made no room in my mind for a recurrence of the disease. The doctor thinks the tumor is not a result of cancer cells missed in the original surgery but rather a whole new tumor. That puts in my mind the idea that Carmen is growing the stuff from scratch; not a good sign.

After a day of thinking and praying I calmed down a little. Dorothy says that the doctors are recommending a much milder form of radiaton and oral chemo to kill the tumor. Carmen could still function as normally as before. I am feeling calmer now that a little time has passed. I wish I knew what is in store for our little girl. I believe our family can adjust to whatever happens; even to losing her if that is to be. But it would be nice to know how to invest our hopes and feelings. I am not inclined to lose hope for her. Not at all. I still feel that she can be cured and made well. But will she?

Radiating Beauty

We've been home a week. It's funny but being home just a day makes me feel that I've been there for a much longer time. Today we are back in Colorado and it feels like we never left. We've attended the temple twice; a very good feeling. One of my friends from there sent me a sweet e-mail message, where she told me that I "radiate beauty". I thought that such a sweet thing to tell me!

We spent our week cleaning the house and working in the yard. I have complained before that we are surrounded by dirt. I'm getting tired of brown all

around. It seems to take such a long time to get things established sufficiently to support plant life. There are a number of things working against growing things here. One is the almost continual wind. I believe that could be solved with trees, especially evergreens that shied from the ground up. Layne is against evergreen trees but I'm hoping to wear him down. The second problems is clay soil. We are in the process of mixing good stuff into the soil to soften it, but that takes time. The third problem is water; ours is full of boron and salt. Most plants don't like that much. So we have installed cisterns to catch the rain water.
That'll help quite a bit for some of the plants. Others are tolerant of
our water. It is trickly to get the right plants in the right places. So we haven't; at least not yet.

We have been busying ourselves getting the front yard ready for planting. The guys have finished the walk-ways and I am building a dry creek bed. I'm hoping to create something that will "radiate beauty". It curves nicely and I'm now filling it with the many stones that lie about the ground all over this place. They are quite pretty so I think they will look lovely. The days at home have been hot! As I worked on the creek, the heat was almost overwhelming. I even found myself sweating! That is something for me. In fact, for two days I could not stop sweating. Layne found it quite attractive!Here is the progress on the dry creek bed.

Friday night we had the pleasure of attending a special, fund-raising, golf tournament, sponsored by our investment company, Valentine Wealth Management Corporation. They found out about Carmen and donated some of the funds from the golf tournament to the family for Carmen. What a marvelous evening! Isn't it wonderful to see how good-hearted people are. It makes me feel so good about the American people; we are a caring bunch, for the most part. Reed spoke at the dinner following the tournament and was very well received. Many approached us after the celebration to meet Carmen and offer various forms of help. How inspiring to be among such giving people. We met and bonded with many of the Valentine family, especially the young daughter of John Valentine, Alexis. She was Carmen's age and sought her out. She talked to Carmen and hung around until our shy girl opened up and they formed a sweet bond. "Meet my new best friend", Alex told us. How sweet it was, for all of us.

We found a bed and a chair for Mom on Craig's List. Both are in good condition and do more things than the items mom is now using in her house. So I'm hoping that she will feel comfortable when we bring her home in November. Ah, it's good to be home! I love our home, it embraces me. There are easy visits to be had with family as well. I love it here!

We arrived back in Colorado yesterday, where we found Mom to be in good condition and functioning better than when we left. I have mentioned her lack of sparkle in previous writings but now understand that her stroke has caused her emotions to "flatten". Apparently, strokes on the right side commonly have that effect on people. She shows little emotion now and I miss it. I miss the mom that used to be even though I still enjoy her as she is now. But I miss the passion.

Pictures above are of Allegra on the left top and Layne on the right top. Family bonding is happening at the kitchen table.

Come on Little Hand

Layne and I have just spent another week with mom, who continues to make progress. With Physical, Occupational and Reading therapists and bathing aids coming regularly, mom is being stimulated and cared for effectively. Here she is at left trying hard to read all the way to the right of the page; one of her greatest challenges. On the right you see her exercising her legs. She is becoming more animated and taking more and more of an active role in exercising her right side, especially her right hand, which is still unresponsive. But she is working it gently and talks to it by saying "come on little hand, move!" She doesn't seem to be discouraged at the challenges before her; she just keeps trying. It is paying off.

My cousin Michael came to Cedaredge while we were there. He has an old house in town. He brought his girlfriend Rose along. He visited with us one day and stayed for 6 hours! We had a great visit. We spoke a little about God; he considers himself an agnostic. As we discussed the creation of the world I agreed that it could have happened by chance through evolution but it was far more likely that the wonder of the life on this earth was created by an intelligent force. He had to agree. I cannot understand why the scientific view of the creation must conflict with the idea of creation by God. Can He not use scientific methods? I believe He does. Anyhow, I felt that our conversation offered me a chance to express my faith in God in a way that Michael might consider. He has a good heart but has lived a life that has not made him happy, in my opinion. We spent many hours in philosophical conversation when we were young. He seems now to have given up his idealism and lost himself in the pursuit of things; especially properties. They are his babies. He cares for them and has trouble letting them go. I hope he is still in Colorado when we return in a week.

Mom has agreed to come home with us for the winter! I'm excited about that. Layne suggests that we rent a small trailer and bring her bed and chair with us when we drive home with her in November. I think that is a good idea. My mind is filling with ideas for making our space here fit her needs. I believe we can have a good experience with her and that she will enjoy her time on our little hill.

Speaking of little hills, Cliff has laid the groundwork for our front yard pathways. I like it! Soon the guys will get the stone in place and we can add plants. Things don't grow easily here. I hope we can get the hang of making a furtile field out of our surrounding grounds. Layne refuses to be frustrated by this challenge. He just keeps on trying things until he finds a system that works. I love that quality in him (it is generally contrary to my own!).

Our trip home from Colorado on Saturday was an adventure. We flew from Montrose to Denver without any problem. In Denver we found that every flight west was oversold! Fortunately the airport offers free internet service so we used my laptop to access the United web page and searched every flight out of Denver that could possibly connect us to a flight into San Francisco. We wound up in Pheonix! Layne discovered that the flight to Pheonix was wide open. The SF flight out of Pheonix was also wide open. We took a leap of faith and it worked! It took us all day but we made it home Saturday evening.

It is always good to be home. I feel such peace here. The house is organized just right to serve our needs in great comfort and convenience. I'm grateful for it. This crazy time of flitting back and forth between Colorado and here is a bit jarring. I am beginning to feel confused about what is here and what is there. I'm glad we will be bringing mom home with us for awhile.

The Social Bug

Colorado is cooling down. Layne and I are here caring for mom again. We arrived last Thursday just as Maryanne was leaving for her home on the train. The nights are cool but the days are still warm. The skies change by the minute with occasional rain to add beautiful variety. As I look out from mom's deck the view is full of living beauty, in every direction. Colorado is a nurturing place. Cedaredge has fostered our Kiser family for over 100 years. We have deep roots here! The picture above was taken today just as the sun was going down. Note the foxtail is highlighted by the setting sun. Mom hates foxtail!

Mom looks good. She is functioning much better than she was during our last visit. She is such a resilient girl. We took her to a concert in the park, on Main St. She came alive. She is such a people girl. Interaction with people is her source of energy; she gets high on it. We took her to Church today, for the first time since the stroke. Tons of members came up to her and welcomed her. It was a great experience. She really enjoyed it. She doesn't seem to get tired when she is socializing.

We had a steak dinner tonight, followed by peach pie. Yum. Mom has a fine appetite, as has, unfortunately, Layne and I. We eat very well here. Mom's life is full of activity; she has various therapists coming almost every day. In between I work her, so she is getting lots of action. Her right hand is still unworkable but she can now move her arm and is feeling some nerve shots up her arm when her hand is moved. I take that as a good sign that her brain is beginning to wake up and notice that there is a hand there. It is interesting to see how her brain works to regain awareness and function on the right side. It responds to demand. So we are trying to demand that it acknowledge the right side's parts. It is starting to!

The picture of Layne was taken right after Sunday dinner. Doesn't he look satisfied?

Mom and I read the scriptures together for awhile today and had a great discussion on various meanings and interpretations of some of the verses. She is very good at such things and has intelligent opinions. She isn't as talkative as she was before the stroke; she must be prodded to converse. I miss her free offering of ideas and opinions. Perhaps it will return in time.

Layne and I will be here until Saturday. I'm looking forward to it. Here is a picture of mom on Sunday. She has her Sunday duds on and is offering us her current version of smiles.

Home news

Layne and I have been home from Colorado for over a week. There's been lots of activity around here. I took Rayne and Carmen both birthday shopping. Rayne choose clothes, of course. We shopped her favorite store, Forever 21. It was full of young gals, loud music and plenty of cleavage. But I'm happy to say that Rayne bucks the trend with beautiful modesty. She will be 19 tomorrow! She's working at Norstrom now and loves it. She'll return to school in January.

Carmen has been 8 for a month now but we have been gone so the birthday shopping trip had to be put off. She was willing to wait, so we had fun choosing some fun stuff at the store of her choice, Target. Carmen is looking better and better. Saturday the 6th was a special day for her and for Reed, who turned 36! Carmen was baptized on Reed's birthday. Alexis turned 5 on that day as well. Here are some snaps of Carmen on her baptism day, with her folks. I got to speak at the baptism and used a story Layne told me about his dog, Rusty. Rusty's experience provided a neat little metaphor for sin and cleansing.

This past Sunday all the local family met at our place for a birthday celebration for Reed and Rayne. It is always fun to have everyone together. Tomorrow Layne and I will return to Colorado for a bit more than a week.

Mom turns 91

On September 3rd, mom turned 91. Layne and I were home and she was with Maryanne. Mar prepared an array of goodies and invited many of her friends to drop by sometime during the day. Mar reports that friends filled her day with their visits and wishes. She was a happy girl. She is a "people person", you know, and gets high on interaction with friends. It sounds to me like Maryanne did an outstanding job of honoring her on her special day. Wish we had been there.

Mom

Mom is quite a girl. She works hard every day to get back her mobility. Each day she can move a little more. Her leg works best but the rest of her right side is showing signs of awakening to some extent.

We had an exciting advancement recently; SHE MOVED HER RIGHT ARM! This is big. I'm so excited to see her advance. She is too. She is making amazing improvements and we are excited to be a part of it.

Girls in Colorado

My turn to return to Colorado to care for mom came up on August 12th. I was planning on driving there with Jessica and the kids, but she was delayed leaving so I flew instead. Audrey and Isaiah flew to Seattle and drove with them. They arrived safe and sound on Thursday. For the next 5 days our world was full of 4 women (me, mom, Jes and Audrey) and 4 kids (Isaiah, Gemma, Miles and Peyton). What a lively spirit was brought into mom's little house! We plotted activities that would keep the kids happy and came up with paid jobs followed by a shopping trip to spend the money, a scavenger hunt with treats following and then a treasure hunt with a treasure for the girls and a separate one for the boys. It was such fun! One day we looked up directions for making paper boats on the internet. Who could know that it would lead to hours of making boats, sinking them in the creek and making them again. I loved spending time with the kids. And I loved spending time with my girls. They cooked, cleaned up and helped with gramma. It was a great bond; I was sad to see them go.

Layne flew in to join me on Friday. I was so glad to see him! He took my "honey-do" list and jumped right in working on each one. It is now Thursday and he has done every single thing on the list plus a few more. What a man!

Mom is making improvements every day. It is exciting to see her progress. Her therapists come up with more and more things for her to do and I think up some as well. Mom tries it all. She isn't much for gab, though she is certainly capable of it. She also isn't much for humor though I've read her a bunch of jokes and tease her when the chance comes up. But she is her same sweet person and such a pleasure to serve. Her friends continue to stop by, generating an energy in her that naps don't touch. I can't help feeling such optimism as I see her gain more and more function. This is a sweet time.

Maryanne arrived today, by train. By a greatly delayed train. An 11:00 AM arrival became a 5 PM arrival. But she is here and all is well. We go home on Saturday.

The Lightening Rod

My divided life has brought me to Colorado once again, as I take my turn caring for mom. She is making regular improvements, but is greatly reduced in function. As she herself has mentioned, she feels overwhelmed at all that must be worked on and overcome to approach a normal life. I find working with her very satisfying. I can't say exactly why; perhaps it is her strong, benevolent personality; perhaps it is my happy chance to return to her all the good she has given me over a lifetime. Perhaps it is something else all together, or a combination of things. But is is joyful to be here. It is a kind of retreat. The world goes away and time seems to stand still. I forget the date and the day. This Colorado country is a haven. It seems to somehow embrace me and bring me closer to God.

I keep wondering what purpose there is in the reduced condition of mother. She has been such a force for good in this place. Now she must concentrate her attention and will to making her body respond and awaken. It is not something she wants to do. It is a surprise to us all that she is now required to do so. I'm sad to see her have to fight this battle. Yet, in spite of her present condition, she still functions as a kind of lighting rod for our family. She somehow binds us to one another. She has the power to bring out the tenderness in us. She has a mighty will and a deep reservoir of love that pulls us all in. My girls, Audrey and Jessica, have been here with me since last Thursday. I believe they too feel the power of mother. She looks upon us with tenderness and gratitude. Perhaps it is her spirit after all that makes our service to her a joyful one.

Eating Ants

Layne came in from working outside on Friday and began eating some peanut m&m's (his favorite) and almonds out of a plastic bag. He was munching away when I came into the kitchen and looked up into his blue eyes. His chin was covered with ants, forming a kind of living goatee. As I looked closer, I saw more ants crawling all around his mouth. His hand was dipping into the candy bag, full of ants. Ants were crawling up his fingers. Ants, ants everywhere. He never noticed. When I pointed them out to him, he, very sheepishly, said, "well, let the ants look out for themselves!" He finished his mouthful, declaring that the flavor seemed untarnished. But he threw the rest away. What a man!

A Break at Home

Layne and I flew home from Colorado on Wednesday. I felt such pleasure in working with mother; she is gentle, bright and so appreciative of all that we did for her. But when I walked through our front door I felt overcome by sorrow. It followed me all day. I felt such a loss for my mom. She was so full of life and fruitful activity. Now she must work hard to get her functioning back. I feel very dedicated to helping her do it. But I couldn't shake the sorrow over what has happened. I slugged through dinner and mourned through the evening.

I decided that I needed to get out of myself. Rayne asked me to take photos of her and buddy Caitlin. It was good to get into something outside my personal thoughts. But Thursday provided me with the best opportunity to do so. I had an invitation to attend a luncheon with gals from my school days. I have a hard time walking into social situations cold. But I pushed myself. Upon entering the restaurant I felt comfortable. The gals there welcomed me with embraces and happy conversation. It was so good to see them. Some I met for the first time in many years at the last lunch. But there were some that I saw for the first time since school, at this lunch. It was a total departure from my sorrows to be there. The conversation was fun and bonding. I'm so glad I went. I came home completely renewed. It is good to have a break and catch my breath.

Home for Mom

Today mom comes home. She has spent some two weeks in the Physical Therapy unit of the Montrose hospital. I love it there. The facility is lovely, the people are great and the food is amazingly delicious. It is a treat to eat there with mom. Mom is busy most of every day but Sunday. She has physical, occupational, and speech therapy every day. I have learned some additional exercises which I put her through in addition to all else. I have found being with mom and exercising her is joyful. I enjoy learning about the effects of the stroke and what can be done to overcome them. Somehow there is an element of excitement in being able to see her improvement and in discovering more ways to help her. I've felt a connection and bond with those who serve her there: Sharon is her main nurse; Paula and Beverly are physical therapists; Jen, Kimry and Micah work with her speech, eyes and mouth; Jeanne is her social worker. Since I'm not at the hospital early enough, I'm not sure who does the occupational therapy but I'm amazed at how many there are who work together to help her.

She has had a good experience even though she longs to be home. She is bright but subdued. She is finally coming to grips with the extent of her handicaps and is doing all she can to work her way out of them. The stroke has changed her brain chemistry, I 'm told, and has created a chemical depression. She is on an antidepressant to address that. I've yet to see her spark, but she is basically positive and pleasant. I enjoy spending time with her and feel quite devoted to helping her recover.

July 24, 2008
At the moment I am sitting at my mother's desk in Colorado. She is now in a physical therapy hospital in a nearby town and I am taking my two week turn being with her. There is quite a change in her, which I'm having a hard time adjusting to. She is greatly diminished, physically. I feel she is a bit depressed, being cooped up in a hospital room, even though it is the nicest facility I've seen. She is sad about losing her independence. Her life will be greatly changed now. My sister and I plan on rotating being here with her until we can determine the extent of her recovery. Layne will come next week to help me bring her home and spend some time with her here in her own little place. Her mind is unaffected; just her body is now handicapped. I feel like she is being redirected. I am telling her that she has something left of her mission and that the Lord will guide her to it, if she will seek that out. She has become a bit mentally lazy; an easy thing to do in the hospital. Yet she is so vibrant a personality; I feel that the Lord wants her to do something that she has, perhaps, been avoiding thus far in favor of other good things. Perhaps it is a choice between the good, better and best that Elder Oaks spoke of recently. She is getting regular physical therapy but I've decided to exercise her inbetween those sessions. The therapist showed me what I can do with her so I'm excited to begin that today. I think it may speed things up and help her right side to reawaken.

So that has changed my life quite a bit. I'm on leave from the temple for a couple of months and will only be able to attend once or twice a month for awhile. The mission must be postponed as well. But the Lord is in charge; I can feel that. I also feel a sense of joy being with my mother and trying to help her along. It makes a difference that she is mentally sharp. We can have a sweet time during all of this, I feel sure. There are blessings in it and I don't dread my time here in any way. It is raining outside right now; we don't see summer rain at home and I love it here. The sky has a beautiful rainbow just outside the window. I can't help but feel a sweet peace as I look at the beauty that is here. Colorado is a lovely place.

Layne is now in Idaho, spending time with Gerald and family and Chinese students. I’m glad that he went; I think it’ll be good bonding time with Gerald. Layne loves his children so much but doesn’t initiate time with them. I worry that they will not realize his feelings for them.

Layne has a lovely garden going in our yard. It is bearing, especially the squash. Our tomatoes are growing but so very small. I think we are giving them too little water. Layne is trying to ration the cistern water so it will last the summer. But we just got two more cisterns so next summer should give us enough.

Colorado and Mother

I am back in Colorado, sending Maryanne home for a needed rest. So I am alone in mom's house. It seems strange to be here without her. I spend the evenings alone here. I am something of a scaredy cat so it took awhile for me to fall asleep my first night. But I'm pretty comfortable now. I use the early mornings for chores and errands, visit mom in Montrose from about 11 AM until 6 PM or so, then head back home.

Colorado is a beautiful place. I always feel inspired here. Nature provides such summer weather variety. So far it has rained and shined every day. You never know what you are going to get here, weather-wise. I suppose that is why I like it so much. Yesterday, as I was working at mom's desk, I looked outside at partly cloudy skies and a beautiful double rainbow. It went on to pour rain, but, by afternoon, there was not a cloud in the sky.

My commute to Montrose takes about 50 minutes. That's a gasoline cost of about $17 a day! I just brought gas yesterday for $4.01 a gallon. That's cheaper than home, but still a sizable expense. Still, we are lucky with expenses. So far, they can easily be covered. I'm grateful for that.

Mom is tiring of hospital life. Even her good parts grow weak with bed life. She gets an hour of physical therapy a day but it is not enough. So I asked the nurse to give me exercises that I could put her through in addition. She gave me four. My goal is to have mom go through those twice a day. As I watch her therapy I realize how far she has to go. Her right arm and hand are still completely useless. It worries me a little. If she doesn't get some movement there she will be handicapped in a major way. She has great trouble standing because of the weakness on the right. My mind still has not accepted her as physically handicapped but I must face that fact. It will take some time for her recovery and, most likely, it will only be partial. Yet I feel positive about her future. There is a purpose in this and potential benefit. Mom was miraculously preserved in this experience. Her mind is clear. Our goal is to help her find a new direction. I take great joy in her service and in her presence. She is a blessing.

Rayne

Audrey and Cliff left on Thursday to drive to Idaho to pick Rayne up from BYUI. They returned with her early Saturday morning. Rayne looks great and had a wonderful experience at school. She is more confirmed than ever in her choice to study English. She'll be home until January, when she'll begin her sophomore year. Wow, how can a grandchild of mine be 18 already?

Farewells

The Taiwanese people seem like such a gracious bunch. We had a harder time getting acquainted with these students than the younger ones of last year, but, in the end, they turned out to be mostly friendly.

The girls did a sketch of the house, which they gave to me as a thank you. They also presented me with cookies and a wall hanging. They are well-behaved and generally very pleasant people. Gerald says that their time in Taiwan is pretty well taken up with school and various lessons and classes and they are not used to "spare" time. It is fun to watch them adjust to western culture and ideas. I admire many of their traditions; others seem to me to be a disservice to them.

Gerald and his gang left on Friday for the airport and a flight to Salt Lake City. It took 3 cars to get them and their stuff properly delivered to SFO. One was a rental; the other two were ours. Since every driver in the local family was gone except Chase and me, we drove the two cars home. Chase was very nervous to drive home from the airport as he wasn't acquainted with the route. But he agreed to follow me with faith that we'd both make it home! It took us about an hour to get everyone to the airport but almost TWO HOURS to get home! The traffic was terrible. I'm grateful not to have to make my way in it very often. Chase and I made it home without incident and felt greatly relieved to be out of the masses of humanity that must make their way home under these difficult circumstances every day.

There were blessings in it however. I used the crawling traffic time to make some family calls and had some great visits. It is now illegal in California to use a cell phone with hands, so I used my handless ear plugs. They worked very well. Which goes to show that there can be blessings in all circumstances. Well, almost all.




Seth is in the left picture, laughing with Chase; Angelica is on the right, posing just for me.

People Everywhere

Gerald, Frances, their babes, Seth and Angelica, and 10 Chinese students spent 4 days with us. Reed came on Thursday evening with all 5 of his kiddos, making the evening a crush of life of all sorts and dispositions. We had a great time! Carmen is looking much rosier. She involved herself with the kid play and ate an almost full dinner. She is definitely on the mend.