6.20.26 Transfers. Heart. Old. Canola. Cancer. Humongo.

 Retired/Missionary Life. Sunday.

HAPPY SABBATH!! Here! Have a Jesus Picture! He LOVES YOU!!

The meetings line up: Branch Council Meeting, Sacrament Meeting, Men's Meeting (lots of talk about the World Cup.......this is a Latino branch!) Missionary Correlation Meeting. And that was plenty.

We learned of the pending transfer/move of two of our missionaries, going to other places to serve. This is always a sad time, saying Good Byes. But they are incredible and their incredibleness will be a huge blessing in another area that needs them. See our final picture below.

Back home, we napped, we read, we studied Spanish, we ate leftovers and whatever might be hanging out in the fridge. We watched an episode of Heartland. And we signed on to a mission-wide Zoom Call late in the evening to be uplifted and counseled.

We hope your Sabbath was good too!

Retired/Missionary Life. Monday.

It's THAT day.....

We planned out our busy week, created some nutritious (mostly) menus, made those into a meticulous grocery list, drove to Plummer, ate salads and played Book of Mormon Rummy at the Gateway, bought the groceries, drove them home, unloaded, unpacked. Grocery in Plummer is always entertaining. I love looking through the frozen meat display to see what I can see. I don't know how to cook any of that stuff (heart? liver? shank? hocks?) but it is fun to gawk at.

I also did up the family books, including paying bills and reconciling medical statements.

In the evening, we watched a pre-recorded football game. (Eagles at the Vikings). And afterwards, we are attending our weekly mission-wide Zoom call, the second one in two nights, to receive counsel and be spiritually strengthened.

It was too hot to bring the dogs with us, so I bought them a new squeaky toy to make up for it and they immediately started wrestling over it. And then got tired and dropped into sleep on the floor.

Day of preparation and recreation......complete.

Retired/Missionary Life. Tuesday.

First off, we looked at this week's schedule and decided today was the best day to participate in "Old Folks Go To Breakfast" day. So we drove to Worley and dined at Red Tail. Steak and Eggs for me. Two-egg breakfast for Hanna. And a couple of rounds of Book of Mormon Rummy.

Back at home, we took it easy. We've been running at a fast pace, so a down day is good. Plus we got some stuff done around the house. I changed out a sprinkler head, cleaned out the dogs' water system, broke up a pack of bacon into meal-sized sizes and froze it, reviewed some financial stuff, looked at Hanna's Mom's Estate Tax Return that is due in a couple of months to see what we're still missing to complete it, and that was plenty.

Back to medical and mission stuff tomorrow!

The life of old people................

Retired/Missionary Life. Wednesday.

Morning was spent taking the boys for their walk before it got too hot out, reading, studying, preparing.

Afternoon we had appointments and errands. I visited my Chiropractor. We met up with the Elders for a Spanish Lesson at our Tutor's. (They brought us beautiful flowers!!) Hanna visited her massage therapist. I picked up nice clean white shirts from the cleaners. We picked up a slew of drugs from the pharmacy, and we picked up some groceries.

Typical day for old people...

The drive was nice too. The Canola is in full bloom!

Retired/Missionary Life. Thursday.

Let's talk about Hanna's health........we've told our family and closest friends. Over the past several months, her cancer tests have indicated that it was imminent that her remission was coming to an end. A few weeks ago, the Mayo Doctor and our local Cancer Doctor determined the remission had ended, that her current regiment of meds are no longer doing the job, and that a change in treatment plan is necessary. We are in the throws of that change now, which has included figuring out exactly which drug to go with, seeing if Medicare D will cover it (they agreed to after initially denying it and our Doctor filing an emergency appeal...drama!!) (it only costs $130,000 per year!), researching effectiveness and side effects, and changing schedules. She will now get an infusion weekly rather than monthly. And the days of being "grounded to the house while we wait for the FedEx Dude to arrive with her chemo drugs" are now terminated. The new regiment starts on July 1st.

Today started a new part of that journey though, the part where they test her body to see if it is healthy enough for the new drugs it will be subject to. We were both feeling a bit down. Phone rings, and it is Christian Healthcare Ministries. "I'm just calling to see how you are doing and if I can pray for you...." Can't say no to that. And she then pronounced a powerful prayer and blessing upon both of us. Over the phone. We needed that. We are being watched over. And it doesn't really matter what faith you belong to, prayers are powerful.

We picked up a slew of drugs yesterday that are supposed to help alleviate the side effects. (See the pile of labels.....). And today we drove to CDA for the EchoCardiogram (or whatever it was called.) I waited in the truck and dutifully studied Spanish and the Bible. She ventured inside for the test and got to see her own heart beating. "It looked good to me....". Results arrived later and it appears it can handle about anything. (We already knew that...she does live with me, right?.......but it's good to know for sure....)

We spent the afternoon handing out invitations to the upcoming Watch Party of the Free Tabernacle Choir concert next week to members of our congregation. (If you want an invite, please let me know.) We saw a cool car decorated up for High School Graduation.

And before the night was over, we met up with the Sister Missionaries at Connelly's for some decent grub including pie. Meeting with them is always an uplifting experience and we are grateful so much for them and all the young missionaries we work with and who pray for us. We feed them. They bless us. It's an awesome deal!

Living with cancer and waiting for the other shoe to drop is tough and always an adventure. But staying busy with service and prayers are incredibly helpful.

Retired/Missionary Life. Friday.

We scheduled today to be at home to get things done around the house. One of the disadvantages of serving a mission from home is you still have to take care of your house. No landlord. So today was that day.

- Taco omelettes for breakfast.

- Took the boys for a walk in downtown Fairfield.

- Mowed the lawn. This includes trimming as well as removing the sprinklers before and putting them back afterwards.

- Part of our lawn is being taken over by these yellow flower weeds thingys. Hoping to get them sprayed soon.

- I have a disdain for thistle. I get that from my dad who fought the nasty week on his farm all the time. And I have only one tree on our property. And, from what you can see below, there is a thistle GROWING INSIDE THE TREE!!! (Should say WAS growing now.....)

- Ribs for dinner.

- We held weekly (usually) Missionary Companionship Council tonight, which for us means we watched a movie. Date Night!! We watched The Best Two Years. Yup. It is a great missionary movie.

- And a young elk at the Highlands. We need to make our way up there someday soon.

Retired/Missionary Life. Saturday.

Morning: we read and studied.

Afternoon: Family dinner. We met up with Del, Ella, Justin and Brayden at Denny's. Great food. Great conversations. Looking forward to our family reunion in a few weeks. And yes, Brayden really enjoyed his humongo burger!

Evening: We worshipped in the temple. Spanish Session! Several folks from our congregation were there worshipping also including one lady that a few months ago we taught and prepared to go to the temple for the first time. The Spanish Session is always the best!

Bonus: Wild critter searching for food at the Highlands last night.