the quote wall

I can't remember if I blogged about the "quote wall" that Hillary did one summer years ago but I am wishing I had it right now. One summer she wrote down all the funny and memorable things people in the family said or our favorite lines from our favorite movies.  Then she put the quote wall up for us to look back on and smile.  I think one line was from Samantha, when she was mad and called somebody "Captain Poop".  I'm sure there were many quotes from Avonlea, Pride and Prejudice, etc.  This last summer several lines from "Singing in the Rain" and "Some Like It Hot" kept coming to my mind and making me laugh, but now I can't remember them.  I wish I had a quote wall to keep me laughing.  I guess I'll just have to watch the movies again.  Though I admit, I am having "Arsenic & Old Lace" on in the background at least once a week this October while I do the dishes, etc. and some of the lines make me laugh every time.  For example:
"Listen handsome, here's a few bucks - go out and haunt yourself a hotel."
 And,
 Mortimer, referring to the 12 dead bodies buried in the basement: "Aunt Abby, you just admitted you poisoned them!"
Aunt Abby: "Yes I did.  But you don't think I would stoop to telling a fib!"
and finally,
"When I get back I expect you to be gone.  Wait for me!"

So anyway, thanks for the quote wall Hillary.  Time to make another one.

the big bad wolf must have had a healthy heart

Today was Samantha's first visit to the adult cardiology department.  In August she graduated from pediatric cardiology.  At first we were told the same thing - that all was well, and that actually she now only needed to be seen every 8 to 10 years.  But then we got a call back saying that at closer look the doctor noticed something abnormal in her echogram.  He consulted with the adult cardiologist and she agreed that Samantha should have an MRI and another consultation, which they scheduled for today.

The results are on a "is the glass half empty or half full?" kind of basis.  Reggie is helping me see that the glass is half full - that we got great news today.  She does not need to have anything done right now, and there is still a good chance that she will never have to have anything else done, ever.  But there is some leakage of blood going back through her valve which was not happening before or was happening in the last 18 years but has recently gotten worse.  It is still in the mild/moderate category and will hopefully stay that way.  They are going to see her every 2 years from now on just to be sure; we don't have to worry about signs or symptoms of deterioration because the doctor said they will be able to catch things long before they become a problem.

Now here is the part that scares me/that caught me off guard - we were always told that if she did need a new valve it could be done through another catheter procedure.  Turns out that is not accurate - that it would need to be done through open heart surgery.  The doctor explained that Samantha and her age group are Pioneers in the area of catheter procedures to fix pulmonary valves; that they had just started doing this a few years before she was born.  And so now they are seeing how the valves are holding up in these young adults.
So again, Reggie is reminding me that we walked out of there with great news - that she does not need surgery now and if the valve has to be replaced in the future, technology might have caught up with us and maybe it could be a catheter procedure by then.

Another positive way to look at things is that Samantha has a new friend.  This cardiologist is so wonderful.  She said that most likely things will be fine each appointment and they will just shoot the breeze - catch up with how Samantha's career is going, how her kids are, etc. etc.( - if Samantha chooses to be a Mom someday the cardiologist will watch over her with that too.)  She said that she will be seeing Samantha until she is 80 years old! and then she (the doctor) remembered that that would make her way over a hundred, so eventually Samantha will graduate to another doctor in her elderly years.  But it certainly gave us a positive outlook: that Samantha will live to a ripe old age no matter what the future holds in regards to her heart.

So, I can't say I didn't go into my room this afternoon to shed some tears, away from Samantha because I don't want her to be afraid.  Of course she will be reading this blog post in a few minutes so maybe I shouldn't admit that.  I guess it's okay for her to know that Moms get scared but eventually come to know that everything will be okay.  And at least in our family Dad is the rock and keeps us all optimistic.  It did make me smile to see how happy Samantha was when Reggie got off work in time to come to these appointments.  He always makes things feel safe and just better.

And finally, about the big bad wolf.  Another good thing about this appointment is that the doctor talked to Samantha about heart health, in general.  I have been scared to have Samantha do much exercising, until after this appointment.  She said that 40 minutes of aerobic, "huffing and puffing" exercise each day will be just as important for Samantha's heart as it is for everyone elses.  So lucky Samantha, I will be going back to nagging her to go on walks with us, do Just Dance with us, etc. etc.

getting to know Ross a little better

Last night we called Mariah & Ross to talk about Christmas - their travel plans, their Christmas wish lists, etc.  We are so excited that they will be able to come home.  It was a fun conversation and I feel like we got to know Ross a little bit more.  It occurred to me then that the one thing we didn't ask Ross, or about Ross, when they were engaged is what his political persuasion is.  I guess the fact that it never came up before means that he and none of us are are extremely opinionated when it comes to politics; it's not a deal breaker.  Which is good because turns out that Mariah and Ross are in a "mixed marriage" politically speaking.  He leans conservative and she leans liberal, just like me and Reggie.

But what could be a deal breaker is that Ross does not know I Love Lucy very well!  He tried but it took him a while to remember the tune of the theme song!  But it's okay because I told him that we would start his I Love Lucy education when they were home for Christmas.  In fact, Lester doesn't know Lucy well either and whenever I see him sitting in the living room holding the baby I figure he is a captive audience and I turn it on.  He may not admit it, but I did see him paying attention to it and he even laughed a couple of times.

 But, in all seriousness, we are just so excited for this Christmas.  I just don't know how we got so lucky to have 3 sons in law that complement our family so well.  They have come in and made things even better.

Happy Birthday Addy!

YOU SURE ARE A LOT OF FUN!  When our computer is fixed again I will find adorable pictures to put on here of you!

Little Things

Audrey loves little things.  When they visited in the summer Audrey was carrying around her little "beanie baby" size Ernie.  You could tell that even though she warmed up to us quickly, she was holding on to and snuggling Ernie for comfort.  I've noticed she is that way with a few things like little dolls, etc.  Maybe she will be like her mother.  Hillary was always fond of the smallest dolls, Polly Pockets and other miniature toys.  We sure do miss that little Audrey.

Reggie's take on the SF Giants, my take on the SF Giants

I'm sure everyone knows by now that the Giants just won a victory in game 5 over the Cardinals, which means they're going to the World Series.  From what I hear and read, it was a nail biter throughout.  Then, in the 9th inning, when the score was tied at 3, the Giants hit a home run, ending the game 6 to 3.  Yes, the excitement in our area is electric!  Reggie's take on it all is:

"So Awesome!";  "Giants!!!";  "Again!" and "Gotta love those Giants!"

Even though I don't follow the games that much I am happy for Reggie, San Francisco and most all of the Giants fans out there.

My take on all of this is:

I was not watching or listening to the game but when I got home tonight I did want to read about it.  I am so impressed!  Forever a Mom, I have to say that there are 2 great life lessons that a couple of the Giants players showed us tonight.  Quoting Yahoo Sports:

1. " Limited to pinch-hitting duties in the postseason, Michael Morse played his role to perfection. Down one run in the eighth, Bruce Bochy called on Morse to hit for pitcher Madison Bumgarner, and he quickly destroyed a Pat Neshak pitch to tie it up." 

 Life lesson - even though he was recently replaced as a main player, when he was called in to hit and did a great job!

12.  "Travis Ishikawa, who earlier in the game misjudged a fly ball allowing St. Louis to score the game's first run, bounced back and played hero for San Francisco, delivering a three-run walk-off homer in the ninth inning.  • Travis Ishikawa is the man of the hour in San Francisco. He easily could have been a goat, but one opportunity and one swing changed his fortune."

Life lesson - he could have gotten very down on himself and wallowed in despair and worry, but he picked himself back up and did his best and became a hero.

So CONGRATULATIONS GIANTS!  GOOD LUCK IN WORLD SERIES 2014!

Apps

Last year when we were in Utah I was driving around on a Sunday and amazed that there was a radio station playing, all day long, "The Sounds of Sunday".  In other words, it was hymns and other spiritual/peaceful music.  I was very jealous, because I don't know of a radio station here that does that.  We of course have a lot of ways of accessing sabbath day music - YouTube channels, CDs, etc.

  But recently a very good friend came over to our house and handed me something saying "here, this is for you".  My family gasped - it was a Kindle Fire, HD.  She said she won it at work and didn't need it and figured I did.  She then reminded my kids that it was mine, and they couldn't be stealing it from me.  I thanked her so much, and understood her generosity, but didn't really understand what I was going to do with it.  I am not technologically savvy, and not really interested in being so.  But, WOW!  All the things I have found that I can do on this little device is amazing.  Most importantly I have figured out the value of "apps".  I don't necessarily care about being able to check my email or facebook when I am away from home, although that is very nice, especially when our computer was down for a while.  But right away Luke put on the app what he knew I would like the most, that of the "Gospel Library" from our church.  I love that I can access all the scriptures, magazines, lesson manuels, videos, etc. that the church puts out.  I have found stuff on there that I didn't know existed.  And I've realized that even though I love the feel of the scriptures in book form in my hand, with the kindle I can make the font as big as I want and not have to have my glasses handy.  We also got me the LDS Music app. It is just like the "Sounds of Sunday" radio program and I can take it with me anywhere I go.  I love it!

And, I don't want to deny that I love my Kindle for other non-spiritual reasons.  I am not a game player, but we all know that I am a movie and t.v. watcher and listener.  I can even access Netflix on this thing!  I was also shocked to see that CDS that I bought from Amazon years ago are totally available for me to listen to on the Kindle - no charge, because I guess I already paid for them.  I can also access this blog on it and I admit I took it to work so I could easily show my co-workers pictures of my summer, or in other words Mariah's wedding and my grandchildren.

So, I now know what an "app" is and I am a little bit more connected with the technological advances of our day.  I hope my friend knows how much I appreciate her generosity and that I am putting it to very good use!

the one for the wall

This is definitely the one for the living room wall.

Happy Birthday Luke - what would we do without you?

I can't really put into words how much this boy means to this family - 

this family full of girls;

this family full of brothers in law, 

grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles,

etc. etc. etc.

And most of all one Mom and Dad.

I don't know what awaits us, as in life

with a teenage boy.

I'm sure it will be an adventure.

I'm sure it will be amazing.

And as he saw me blogging just now he said

"Really Mom?"

Yeah, really Luke.  

We have similar pictures of Luke getting emotional at age 7, with

his newly married sister Julia,

at age 8 with his newly married sister Hillary,

And here age 12 with his newly married sister Mariah.

I hadn't noticed this - I'm glad the photographer did.

stealing from friends

I came home this afternoon and saw this on a friend's facebook - made my day so I had to steal it and put it here.

my brush with the law

Have you ever ignored a jury duty notice?  Well I remember jury duty envelopes coming in both mine and Reggie's names, but I misplaced them and then forgot about them without even opening mine or telling Reggie about his.  I found them a couple of days ago and realized that we were both assigned jury duty in September.  Apparently Reggie got away with it - I assume if he had called it would have told him that he didn't need to report.  But I got a notice in the mail saying that I missed my jury duty, that it is the law that I attend, told me of the possible consequences for not attending, and then said that I needed to call in and tell why I missed it.  So I was very nervous and called the next day.  Turns out the big punishment was having to wait on hold for an hour and a half to talk to someone.  When they finally got to me it was clear they wanted this phone call to be as short as I did.  They did not scold me or threaten me, but just told me to pick another date to serve, this month.  So I did.  Hopefully I will remember to call in!

Labor Day Re-Do

The weather has been A-mazing this week!  So when that aligned with the fact that it is a Saturday, and Reggie is home/not on a trip, I knew we had to take advantage of it.  He was out of town when we went to Rockaway Beach on Labor Day and so I suggested we do a re-take.  Again, the fact that we went before noon helped us get a good spot and avoid all of the traffic.  It was wonderful.

This weekend is also special because it is Conference weekend, meaning church is broadcast from Salt Lake City today and tomorrow.  We watched some of it in the morning, and then I admit, in order to carry out our beach plans, we skipped out an hour early.  (Because it will be available at lds.org for several months, we plan on making up what me missed.)  After the beach we made it home for the afternoon session and Luke and Reggie are now watching the Priesthood session, which is just for the men.  And for the record, I do not feel slighted in the least that it is just for the men.  It is on t.v. as well, and I could join in and watch it if I wanted, and all the talks come out in written form in the Ensign magazine.  It is available to everyone in these forms, whenever they want.  And when I have taken an interest I've noticed that a lot of what the speakers talk to the men about is urging them to be good husbands, fathers, sons, members of the church and members of the community.  I think it's great.

Taking a Harry Potter marathon to a whole new level

In the summer I thought it would be fun to start watching the Harry Potter movies again, in order.  But I made us wait for fall - you know, a fun thing to do in anticipation of Halloween.  We started watching them together but then Luke went faster than the rest of us and finished them all.  Now he has become very interested in the soundtracks, from each movie.  You would think they were all pretty much the same, but there is definitely different background music in each movie, and it's pretty cool.  We are enjoying all the soundtracks and more from other movies, like Pirates, etc. Hooray for the library for stocking such things!  Now if we only lived in New York, or if only my niece lived in California, we could go to the ultimate Harry Potter party that she is throwing for her kids.  Runs in the family I guess.

Of course, in my opinion it isn't really October until we have watched Arsenic & Old Lace.

October nights

During the first month of school I realized that I was missing Samantha, even though she still lives at home.  It's surprising how much you can keep up with each other's lives in just a daily 15 minute car ride to school and a 15 minute one home.  But I am enjoying our nightly routine - she and I are usually the last ones awake and we've been watching 1 episode a night of Bewitched.  I love that she loves these old shows. I figure she owns enough episodes to take us to Halloween, and maybe beyond.  Happy October!