GRANDBABY #14

Well, this morning it happened! Our 14th grandchild was born. SHE arrived at 7:43 a.m. via C-section. SHE was 7lbs 5oz and 21" long. HER name is LILY GNEHM SMITH! GNEHM? GNEHM? What is that all about, you say? I guess it was one of Jill's great grandmother's maiden name. What ever. I haven't seen her yet, but I did get to see a picture of her. She looks like a keeper. I probably won't be able to go see her until tomorrow sometime. No car. Story of my life!

Speaking of cars, Roger's has been down for basically 5 weeks. It's been real fun! LOL!!! I am so tired of cars that don't work when they should. It always seems to be when you need them the most, too. Oh, well.

Work has finally improved. We started doing our small groups yesterday. So far, so good. Right now we are only doing 2nd and 3rd grade. Next week we add 1st grade. We won't do kindergarten until they get another teacher. So, it's been kind of nice working our way into it.

Well, that's all for now. Until later...

New School Year

Thought I should post about the first 4 days of school. Last week was busy. We helped in different classes. I was in a 2nd grade class. The teacher really didn't need me (she is super organized and has great control). So, I helped in our Basic Skills office and in the front office. We helped the kindergarteners and 1st graders in the cafeteria. Then at the end of the day, we helped the kids get on the buses.

Today, we started our testing. We did two classes and we were through by 10:00 a.m. So then, we went back to helping in the same classes. Well, my good friend that I work with, Ranae lost her 34 year old son last Thursday. She came to work Friday and this morning but she left at noon. She isn't doing very well right now. DUH! Anyway, she works in a kindergarten class so I went in her class to help the teacher. Needless to say, I was totally exhausted when I got home. I don't know how Ranae does it.

I got a new look for this year. I got my hair cut and highlighted (no pics yet). I really like it. I also bought some blouses that are very different from what I usually wear (colors). I've gotten lots of compliments. I guess it was a goo change?

Michael is registered at MCC. He is taking 2 computer type classes and 2 welding type classed. He still hasn't gotten his books yet. He starts next Monday and better get with it!

Well, that's about it for now. Until later...

My Boring LIFE!

Well, it's been a while since I updated my blog, so, I decided that it was time. I have had several peopl mention that they were tired of seeing the same thing every time they looked at it. A lot has happened in the last 4 months.

To begin with, here are some pics of my hand with a cast and after the cast was taken off.

This is the only pic I got of my cast. I went green!

These are the scars from where they took the tendon.


This is my thumb scar from where they put the tendon.

This is the scar from where they released the trigger finger nerve.

This pic shows (barely) the carpel tunnel scar. It is almost invisible!

Overall, I am very pleased with my results from the surgery. I still have some stiffness in a couple of fingers and don't have the flexibility of my wrist and thumb back, but the doctor says that will take up to a year to get back to normal. The best part is I have NONE of the pain that I did. I went through 4 weeks of therapy after 6 weeks of a sling and cast. I am considering doing my left hand next year. We'll see.

5 days after I got my cast off, Michael broke his hand. He was playing dodgeball and had a sudden male, anger, testosterone moment with a wall. So, he spent the next 6 weeks in an orange cast. The only picture I have of that is from camping.

So, this is Michael with his cast.

Here are a few camping pictures:

Roger and our friend Jim setting up the tent trailer.

Friends relaxing.


Friends and family playing some game.

Not too many days after Michael got his cast off, he totaled my car. He was driving southbound on the 202 freeway just before Guadalupe, when a back tire lost all the tread and he lost control. He spun around and took out about 7 posts that are in the median of the freeway. I don't have pictures of that because they are on a phone. I haven't taken my camera with me when we visited it. The good news, Michael wasn't hurt.

We have been on vacation the last 2 weeks. Well, Roger has had time of for 2 weeks. We haven't been able to go anywhere. We did go see "My Sister's Keeper". It was a good but sad movie. This week, on Tuesday, we went bowling. Roger has been suggesting it for a long time and I have kept vetoing it. Well, I decided to go ahead and go.

Our electronic score card.

That's me. Perfect form, right?

About to release the ball. I'm sure it was a STRIKE! HA! HA!

Well, that was about my only fun! Not too long after this picture was taken, Robie the clutz fell. Yes. In all my glory. I showed everyone there how talented I am! I knew bowling was a bad idea!

Last night, I went to see WICKED! with Tanya and Sarah. Tanya bought the tickets a year ago. It was sooooo good! I don't have any pics of that, though.

Anyway, that pretty much brings us up to date. I go back to work in just 2 1/2 weeks. Not looking forward to that. I really enjoy staying at home. But, I also really enjoy those paychecks! Too bad they won't pay me to stay home!

Well, til next time...

Pictures After Stitches

Here are a couple of pictures that Tanya took after they took out my stitches. It looks more like I was trying my hand (literally) at redneck fishing! By the way, the blue/purple marks are where the doctor marked on me in ink BEFORE surgery so he could get it right. Now I have a bright green fiberglass cast on for the next 4 weeks. Sound like fun? I only hope that it is worth it when it's all over. Tanya and I both thought my hand looked my mother's after they took off the dressing. Kind of made me sad.

Work was a little difficult this week. My hand swells a lot from all my movement. I have t take it easy at home, elevate it. I get bored easily because there isn't alot I can do without both hands.

Well, I am tired of my lame typing so, til later...

Post Surgery

So, it's been 6 days since surgery. 6 LONG days! I am sitting here trying to type with my left hand. I'm SO glad I took typing in high school. At least my hunt and peck isn't so much hunt.

Back to my subject. Surgery went well, at least that's what the Dr. says. The first couple of days are in so many ways a blur. I thought I was doing pretty good, but others tell a different story. I was very unsteady and groggy. I did a lot of sleeping.

Sarah and her family came over on Thursday evening and fixed us a fantastic dinner. She fixed chicken fettuccine and the trimmings. We sat down to eat and I took 1 bite and jumped up and ran to throw up. I felt bad at my timing. It was totally the anesthesia. The food was great after that. We had lots of left overs, too! YUMMY!

On Friday evening, my sweet dil Leslie made us homemade chicken noodle soup. Let me just say MMMMmmmm GOOD! It hit the right spot. She makes a mean cns! Watch out Campbells! Fortunately, I didn't lose any of it. We had lots of left overs and it was just as good a second , third and fourth time.

Fortuntely, Roger was able to take Thursday off and he has Fridays off, so he had 4 days to help me. I can only do so much with my left hand. Too bad I didn't spend more time practicing as a kid!

So, let's see what they did. I have at least 5 inscisions on my hand and arm. One at the base of my hand for the carpel tunnel. 1 between (I think) my index and middle finger to fix the "trigger" finger. One at the base of my thumb where they removed the joint and 2 on my arm are from where they took a tendon to rebuild the joint in my thumb. I have a plaster cast that goes around my thumb and almost to my elbow. It only goes halfway around my arm. I can wiggle my fingers but not my thumb. I guess that was the plan. My fingers are very stiff. I have learned that I do much better if I wear the sling they put me in. When I don't wear it, I get a terrible charliehorse in my arm.

The pain is subsiding for the most part. I am down to only taking pills at night. I did way too much on Monday and paid for it that night. I pretty much stayed in bed yesterday. I feel so much better today. I only hope that in the end, it is all worth it.

I am glad I have this week off for spring break, though. I am concerened about next week. I get my stitches out next Wednesday and then I get a synthetic cast for four more weeks. Hopefully, by then, I can get it wet.

Well, my fingers are really tired. So, til later...

SURGERY!

Well, I decided that I needed to post something again while I can. After tomorrow, I won't be able to type very well or fast. You see, I will be having to do it left handed. I am having surgery tomorrow morning on my right hand. They are going to fix the carpel tunnel, the trigger finger and replace the joint at the base of my thumb. Fun, huh? The best part is that I will have a cast on for six (yes, that's 6) weeks! I am SOOOOOOO excited! Can you just feel the SARCASM dripping from my words? I will be glad to get this taken care of though. The pain is very bad. Most of the time on a scale of 0-10, it is an 8 or 9. I am taking tomorrow and Friday off from work and the next week is spring break. I'm sure I'll be having loads of fun!

Not much exciting has been going on here. I have been trying to do some scrapbooking. I've been working on pages from the Boy Scout Jamboree that Michael went to in 2005. There are so many pictures to choose from!

I have been working on my Relief Society lesson also. It will be from a talk by President Uchdorf at the October 2008 conference. Basically, it is about hope. I am trying to do the paper mache letters "HOPE" to have on display. I just need to figure out the embellishments for the letters. I was "hoping" to have it done before tomorrow, but if you know me, you know that my middle name is "procrastination".

Anyway, that's about it for now. I'll check back in a few days and give you all an update. Til then....

CREEPIN' CRUD!

It's official. I have the creepin' crud. It started with a slight cough last Thursday. It has escalated since. I left work early on Friday. Didn't go to church yesterday. And didn't go to work today. I feel like my head is going to explode! I feel weak, absolutely no energy. My nose is so stuffy and runny at the same time. How can that be? I probably should have gone to the doctor today, but I feel too sick! Does that make any sense? Who know what tomorrow will bring?

So, until I can feel better, bring me the tissues, the headache pills, the nose spray, and anything else you can think of.

Til then...

BIRTHDAYS!

Well, time has gone and done it again! Another year has gone by and my oldest son, Jeremy, is a year older. He is now 34. It's so hard to believe that so much time has passed since he was just a little tyke! As our firstborn, we got all (or most of) our OJT (on the job training) with him. I'm sure we made some mistakes, but overall, I think he turned out pretty good! If I could go back and do anything over, it would be to spend more quality time with him. He didn't have much time with just us. Only 19 months. He was a terrific big brother, though! And now, he is a good husband and father. I am so very proud of the things he accomplishes. He never gives up. Even when he is wasted from trying and can't see clearly, he keeps going. I guess that's the perfectionist in him. He has a bright mind and fun personality. So, Jeremy, I hope this day is a good one for you. I hope that this next year will bring you more of what you want and need. I love you. Mom.

P.S. I have a little something for you.

New Calling

A week ago this past Saturday, Bro. Martinsen (of our Bishopric) called me. We were in Cave Creek and when I got his message, I didn't think he would want me to call him back at 11:00 p.m. I thought I would just talk to him at church the next morning. He was sick and not there. So, I thought I would call him during the week or he would call me back. Neither happened. So, I thought I would speak to him yesterday. They were in Show Low for a baby blessing. I had already figured out that he was over YW and RS. YW scares the you know what out of me. RS is not a whole lot better. Anyway, so I am sitting in RS just minding my own business when the OTHER counselor calls me out. He presented me with the calling. I have been called to be a RS teacher (again). I don't know which lesson I will be giving yet. Last time I did the 4th Sunday lessons. While it takes me completely out of my "comfort zone", I really enjoy teaching RS. I learn so much because I have to do so much preparation. Hopefully I won't be teaching the 2nd Sunday lessons because I want more time to prepare. This Sunday is the 2nd Sunday!

Today was pretty stressful at work. We are doing the progress monitoring of the strategic kids. Ours rules changed with every class. If we had been able to do them the way we wanted, we could have had all of it done today. Unfortunately, we don't make the big bucks and therefore we don't get to make the decisions. Oh, well. Hopefully we will be done tomorrow.

Well, that's it for now. Until later....

Oh The Nerve?

Well, today I went to see the neurologist. He ran a bunch of test on both my hands and arms. He took great delight in torturing me. A friend of mine at work had surgery for carpel tunnel a few months ago. She told me a little of what to expect. She told me about the shocks I would get. She didn't tell me about the accupuncture like needle that was used. Maybe she didn't get it. The zaps from the little electrical thingy weren't too bad. I just felt rather spastic. But then, what's new? The needle was something else. Most of the time when he jabbed it into me, it didn't hurt. It was kind of fun watching the nerve waves on his computer. He bruised my arms and left me bleeding. He also said he was enjoying his job more today than he had in a long time. He said I was a mess. Not only do I have the nerve stuff in my hands causing me pain, I have major nerve problems in my neck, causing pain down my right arm. Electricity jolts are interesting things!

In other news, oh, there really isn't any. Till next time...

Birthday Greetings and Other Stuff

First of all, I have to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my baby boy. Michael is 19 years old today. It's so hard to believe. Hopefully, he will be choosing to go on a mission and be able to soon. We were going to take him out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse (his favorite place), but he was involved in some thing on his WOW game. So, we will take him tomorrow night and then go get his B-day present.

I went to a hand specialist today. It turns out that I have carpel tunnel in both hands. The arthritis in my thumbs is so bad that there is no cartilage left to separate the joints. And, I have a trigger finger on my right hand. Because of all of this, I am in constant pain and my hands go numb and my middle finger gets locked down. So, I am opting to have surgery on my right hand. He said there is too much nerve, muscle and tissue damage to just do cortizone shots. My left hand isn't as bad, so we will do something with it later. I am thinking that I will have surgery the Thursday before spring break. That way I will have a full week to recover. The down side is this: I will have to wear a splint for 2 weeks after surgery and then a cast for 4 weeks after that. YUK!

I am so glad that I finally bit the bullet and saw a hand doctor. At least now I can get something done. My regular doctor just said it was arthritis and to take Aleve. Didn't work. The rheumatologist didn't do anything for me either.

Work will be a challenge since I am right handed. I will figure something out.

We had a wonderful "special" stake conference on Sunday. Elder David A. Bednar spoke to us. He is such a down to earth person. I thoroughly enjoyed the meeting. I think the topic for the whole meeting was the Atonement and repentance. Wilford Anderson, an Area Seventy accompanied him. Great speakers, both of them!

They had the Presidential Inauguation on at work today. I avoided it as much as possible. I am tired of hearing about the history being made by having an African American become president. Why can't we all just be "AMERICANS"? I hope that he can do what he claims he can. I'm afraid he'll find out that he doesn't make the rules as much as he would like.

Well, I've bent your eyes long enough for one night. Until later...

Number 14

Well, it has finally been publicly announced that grandbaby number 14 is on it's way. I found out (unofficially) last Saturday (Jan. 3). Now that they have gone public, I can tell everyone. Christopher and Jill are the parents to be. This will make their 5th child. They already have 3 girls, so we are hoping for a boy. Number wise, I would rather it be a girl. Then our count would be even and you know how I am about even numbers. But, for Sam's sake, I hope it's a boy.

We have a special stake conference next Sunday. They announced at Church today that Elder Bednar will be the speaker. They also told us to get there early if we want a good seat! I hope we can get there early enough!

This past week was a long difficult one for me. I went back to work which in and of itself was terrible! But, the father of the person I carpool with passed away and she didn't go to work all week (mostly because she was also very sick!). So, I had to arrange other transportation. With Roger, Tanya and Michael all working, it wasn't easy. Tanya took me most mornings even after she had worked a 12 hour shift. I was only late one morning since Michael had a root canal on Wednesday and his mouth hurt too much for him to go to work on Thursday. Roger has Fridays off now so that wasn't a problem. Michael picked me up most days.

I will be glad to be back to normal this week. Although, normal isn't the correct term since it is parent teacher conferences this week, so I will be getting off early all week. Maybe I can get some things done here at home?

Well, I better go. 3:30 comes early for me. Till later...