We've Been Given the Green Light

This past week, Dick went to see Dr. Reichman. He is the doctor who operated on Dick. About a month ago, Dick had an EEG to see if there was any seizure activity in his brain, because he really wanted to get off the Dilantin, a seizure medication. We visited with Dr. Reichman, and he said the tests show that most of it was normal but there were some slight spikes in seizure activity. Therefore, Dick will have to stay on the Dilantin indefinitely. He has become tolerant of the medicine and that won't be a problem. Dr. Reichman told him that he looks good and that we are free to turn our mission papers in. Here is a quote from the letter he dictated so that we could turn it into our bishop.
"I am pleased with his progress and think he can resume all activities as
desired, but we will keep him on the Dilantin. He and his wife are considering
serving an LDS mission and I think that would be great. He will need to
have an MRI scan about halfway through that mission and send us back the
pictures and results, so he will need to go someplace where he has access to
an MRI. In addition, with the Dilantin issues, he probably should not go
to a far removed third world country where there is no medical care,
but if there is medical care that is reliable and fairly close to where they
would be, that would be fine."
I have been greatly impressed with Dr. Reichman. He has been very honest and upright with us. We feel very blessed that he was the surgeon on call the night we went into the hospital.
Here are Dr. Reichman and Dick in his office.

About a week ago, Reed Miller (my cousin/brother) called and asked if I had picture of my mother (Ruth) and her sister (Arvilla), because Reed, Grant and Glen are writing the history of Frances Miller and wanted a picture of her two sisters. Frances is the half sister to my mother Ruth and my Aunt Arvilla. Arvilla is Joyce's mother.

I told Reed I didn't have a picture of both of them, but that I knew where one was. Joyce's brother, Roy Cassity, lives in Tooele and was given a beautiful picture of the two sisters by his brother. I've wanted that picture of the two sisters for years. Keep in mind that I haven't seen Roy since I was about 8 or 9 years old. I called him on the phone and told him who I was and asked if I could come and visit and try to make a copy of the picture. He said that would be okay. So, last Monday, Dick and I took Grandpa Dalebout on a ride out to Tooele. We had a nice visit with Roy and his wife, Tony. They live on Cassity Lane, which is named for his family. All of his children live on that lane in separate houses. Below is a picture of Roy and Tony in front of their log cabin home.

I am holding the picture I went out to Tooele to copy. Tony said she would take the picture to a photographer and have a negative made, along with several pictures. I am thrilled because I will have a picture that I have wanted for years. My mother is on the left and Arvilla is on the right.

Isn't it interesting how those on the other side work to get family back together again. I am grateful that Reed, Grant and Glen are working on their mom's history and that Reed called and encouraged me to find a picture of the two sisters. After all these years, I met my first cousin, Roy Cassity.

What's Going On in Our Neck of the Woods

Sometimes my blogs are too far between, and then I have too much to say and show. Anyway, here are some things that we have been doing over the past few weeks.

A couple of weeks ago, Jerry and Sherry Kite called us to tell us that they were going on their mission to Montreal, Canada. They weren't supposed to go until March but were asked to go earlier. Jerry and Dick were mission friends in England many years ago, and Jerry was one of Dick's best men at our wedding. We have kept in touch with them over the years. Anyway, they invivted us to come over to American Fork, where they live, and visit with them. We drove over and took a two-mile walk with them, which included going around the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. We enjoyed visiting with them. On Monday, February 1st, they entered the MTC, where they stayed for two weeks. Then, they will drive to Montreal and take about a week to do that. Here is a picture of the four of us.



This past week, we decided to go see the Young Ambassadors at BYU. It was their 40th reunion and many alumni Young Ambassadors were asked to come and perform with the current group. We took Jenny and Ryan and really enjoyed an evening of wonderful entertainment. It was one of those performances where you really don't want it to end because it's sooo good. They performed songs from the 60's through the current time. One of the alumni ambassadors had gone into professional performing, and he sang "Bring Him Home" from Les Mis. I've seen Les Mis three times, and this man was equally as good, if not better, than the Jean Valjean's I've seen in London and Salt Lake. He was amazing! And, the rest of the program was great. It was a fun evening. Jenny liked it so much that she took Spencer and Ali back to see it on Saturday.

On Saturday, our Stake Relief Society had a women's conference. I participated in a women's choir in which we sang two beautiful songs: "Lift Up Your Heart" and "How Can I Keep From Singing." Both songs were written by Sally Deford. I love her songs. Here are the words to "Lift Up Your Heart. Lift up your heart in faith, for God is ever nigh you,

Eager to bless his children, Mindful of ev'ry child,

Lift up your heart in prayer for God will ever heed you,

Seek him in ev'ry sorrow, Find him in ev'ry need,

Lift up your heart through tears of grief, He will give you peace and heal you.

Life upyour heart in praise of him who hath redeemed you,

Praise his unfailing mercy, Praise his unchanging love,

Lift up your heart for by his might he doth guard your path and guide you.

Lift up your heart unceasing, Praising the Savior's name,

Lift you your heart, for he hath ransomed you,

Lift up your heart, for he doth succor you,

Lift up your heart for he doth offer you a crown of everlasting life.

We do need to "lift up our hearts" and be glad for the wonderful blessings we have.
The whole meeting centered around finding joy in our lives, through all the trials and difficulties of life. It was very nice. Then, we put together 200 hygene kits for Haiti and had a lovely brunch.

Saturday night, we attended a Ball for Haiti. Our neighbor and former bishop's son sponsored this event. It was held at the Marriott Hotel and all the proceeds went to helping the people in Haiti. It was a fun evening with two different bands, and a couple of people spoke about how much help is needed in Haiti.

Here are Bob Moss and his wife, Patti. It was Bob's son, Jon Robert, who was the sponsor. Bob was an official and had to wear a tux.

Clara Jerome works for RBM Services, Jon Robert's business, and she came to take some pictures. Here she is with a nice young man. It would be nice if something happened between them. I'm such a matchmaker. Clara is a sweet girl.

Dick and I managed to dance a few dances, which we haven't done in ages. It seems like after two dances, we had to sit down and rest. We're getting older--can't do what we used to do.

At the Ball, I met an old high school friend of mine, Sue Ann Elliott Call. She and her husband were there because her husband is a doctor and they have spent quite a bit of time in Haiti helping there even before the earthquake. A young couple from Haiti that they knew well suffered a terrible tragedy in the earthquake. The wife was crushed and killed when their home fell on her. The Calls have been working to help the husband and two children get to the U.S.

Sunday, we celebrated Jenny's and Milly's birthdays at the Woods in Cedar Hills. Jenny turned 36 and Milly turned 5. This picture looks like Jenny is praying, but she blinked. I wanted to get a picture of the two birthday cakes. We enjoyed our annual birthday meal of lasagne, salad, bread and cake and ice cream. We had a nice visit with the Woods.

Jenny and Milly. We love these two girls.

Milly, with Zack helping, opens a birthday present. She got a Snuggie, which is the only thing she asked for.

We surely do love having at least one of our children's families around. But, we miss the other families. I guess we'll just have to go and visit them in the near future. So, "that's what's been going on in our neck of the woods."