Tubes

(Before)

We just got back from Luke's little surgery this morning (he had tubes put in). He's doing well and will probably be sleeping all morning. Oh, and did the surgeon even come out afterwards to tell us how it went? No, we had to go to a room and call him on the phone! Is that normal?? (Andrew says no) That puts my total interaction time with this doc up to about a minute. Hope he enjoys his check.

learning from the elderly

Every week in Relief Society, a sign up is passed around to go and visit a ward member who lives at a nearby Nursing Home facility. I always avoid signing up because I'm afraid that Luke will be crazy and make it impossible to sit and have a conversation. But this week I decided to be courageous and give it a shot.

This sister lives in a special unit of the nursing home that is reserved for patients who are beginning to suffer from dementia. As I walked in, I realized that most of the residents in that unit are pretty far gone. One lady was shouting out meaningless jabber while another woman was sitting with her wheelchair right by the door so she could try to escape as soon as I opened it. However, the sister I was visiting seems to have her faculties fully intact on the surface. She comes to church every Sunday so physically she is quite well for her age.

I went to her room and we began talking. Shortly after I sat down, she began to tell me about her childhood in Hawaii. She told me how her birth parents had given her away to her Uncle and Aunt because they could not have any more children. She considers it a great blessing because her Uncle and Aunt were members of the church and were able to raise her in the gospel. She quickly went into her conversion story. As she spoke, I often felt like someone was pressing the rewind button and replaying parts of our conversation over and over again. She would repeat sentences verbatim that she had already said only minutes earlier. I know her conversion story well, because nearly every testimony meeting in Relief Society, she stands up and tells it to us. She always describes it the exact same way, and she repeats it over and over again until someone stands up, thanks her, and helps her sit down.

I had an overwhelming feeling today, as I listened to her tell this story that I already almost have committed to memory. It means so much to her...like it is her most valuable possession. She bore her testimony to me with so much emotion that it nearly made me cry. As I tried to talk to her about other subjects, I realized that she didn't remember much else. She couldn't remember how she ended up in Ohio or what the name of her second husband was, or even how long she was married to the third one (although she did mention that she struck out with all three...and kinda chuckled). The only thing that she has a clear memory of is her testimony of the gospel. As one of the healthiest patients in this unit, I think she realizes that her memory is leaving her and so she repeats her conversion story over and over again to anyone who will listen... just so she won't ever forget it.

So in honor of my friend, and so it will never be forgotten, I will share with you the scripture that enlightened her understanding and solidified her testimony:

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths."
Proverbs 3:5

p.s. Luke was a perfect gentleman!

Same Stuff

I don't know how many times I can write about walking with Luke outside and make it sound novel. That is pretty much all we do nowadays. We just wander around for hours and usually run into many kids the same age that are doing the same thing.

I don't get out the camera much these days because Luke doesn't sit still long enough to take a picture. But here is an illustration of Luke's favorite color - BROWN. Whenever I get out the markers, he only plays with the brown ones and prefers to color all over his face and hands.

Luke's friend taught him how much fun baskets can be. I guess he found a new nook.

Here is a video of Luke running down a pretty steep slope in our yard (you can't really tell how steep it is from the video). He always makes a little noise that is hard to write out...maybe "ga ga ga ga" and as he is descending the hill, it gets faster and faster. He could not be happier than when he is outside exploring.

And, unfortunately, Luke has discovered most of the impolite things to do that are "hilarious". Here he is laughing at Andrew as he spits edamame in the air. I usually try to put my "disapproving" face on, but occasionally I catch myself laughing too. His laugh is just so infectious!

Happy Birthday Carol

I almost forgot to brag about my sister, Carol, on her birthday because I feel like I brag about her all the time (see this; and even my friend brags about her here). I'm pretty sure most of my friends know about my oldest sister who was sort of like a second mother to me. She tries to convince me otherwise, but I can never see anything but goodness, patience, wisdom, peace, optimism, faith and courage radiating from her at every moment.

The truth is, none of us are immune to feelings of discouragement, doubt, frustration, and occasionally, fear. It is because I know she has probably felt these feelings at times, that I think her all the more remarkable. She has amazing gifts that she uses to combat all these normal human weaknesses. I've never heard her gossip or speak unkindly of other people (and I'm always so ashamed when I catch myself doing this in her presence...well, I feel ashamed whenever I do this, but especially in her presence). She forgives and forgets when myself or others have let her down. She loves people and knows how to show it. She seems to easily sacrifice things of little importance for things of eternal importance. When you are around her, you want to be a better person.

I can recall many stories involving Carol over the years. When I was a kid (8?...who knows) I went to go visit her at BYU and she took me with her to do all the fun, crazy things that only a BYU college student would do (sneak in to a guy's apartment to tape silly magazine pictures all over his walls, make funny videos, etc). That's when I knew I wanted to go to BYU when I grew up. I wanted to be just like her and have fun just like she did (academics weren't really on my mind).


I wanted to know Japanese just like she did, so I took Japanese classes whenever they were offered at my school. When I got called to serve a mission in Japan (just like her), I was so excited thinking that somehow I would magically become more like her. I even met people on my mission that knew Carol (her mission president's wife was in one of my wards. She told me when she met me that I wasn't as great as my sister yet, but that I could get there. WOW, for brutal honesty, but I could tell Sister Aoyagi loved me because she loved my sister and wanted me to be the best missionary I could be). Whenever I felt discouraged, I would think of my sister and how much she loved the Japanese people and loved the gospel. Her love for them infected me and I came to love them so much that the very thought of leaving that country and the work, nearly killed me.

In short (or I guess, In long), at all the major turning points in my life, I have followed a similar course as Carol (this is not to downplay my other sisters because they have played major roles in those turning points and their examples are paramount as well). But for some reason, the Lord knew that many of my decisions in life would need to parallel her decisions. And even though we are different in many ways (e.g. I have never been an avid reader and I cannot make pregnancy look so easy, etc.), I have relied on her example to become who I am today. I just don't know what course my life would have taken up to this point if I didn't have an older sister to idolize growing up.

And the coolest thing about Carol, is that she isn't going to take credit for a word of this. She's going to say, "Oh Lauren, you have such a bad memory!". Nice try sister...you're funny too.

I don't have any pictures of Carol on my laptop, so she has escaped just this once! But I will re-post one of her favorite youtube videos in her honor).

Soup Recipe

I have nothing very interesting to report. Lots of started projects...no finished projects.

But I do have some recipes to share.

I know that soup season is pretty much over, but save this one for next winter because it is DELICIOUS. Wish I could say it was also healthy, but yikes! look at all that cream. It has made the rounds through our ward. Here is the wheat bread recipe I like to make too.

Wild Rice and Chicken Soup

• 1 package Rice a Roni long grain and wild rice, original
• 1 1/4 c. water
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 1/2 c. carrots, chopped
• 1/2 c. celery, chopped
• 1/2 c. onion, chopped
• 1/4 c. butter
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1 c. cream
• 3 c. chicken broth
• 3 chicken breasts (or 6 chicken tenders)
• Olive oil for cooking chicken (2-3 T)

Empty contents of Rice a Roni (including flavor packet) into baking dish.

Add water and bake at 325 for 45 minutes to an hour (I just did this on the stove-top according to the directions).

In a large pan, heat oil and then add bite sized pieces of chicken and cook thoroughly.

In a separate large pan, melt butter and saute veggies. Add the flour to the pan. Then slowly add the chicken broth to blend smooth. Add the cream, then the bouillon cube, then the rice mixture and the chicken mixture.

Luke Finally Saw His Shadow

Okay, so maybe he has seen it before, but probably not since November because it hasn't been this sunny for months. We've been busy the last few days taking lots of walks around the neighborhood trying to enjoy it while it lasts. Luke is so happy, he can hardly contain himself. He does his best to put his own coat and hat on and then brings me my shoes to tell me its time to go.


Dear Neighbors: If this little man knocks on your door, I'm sorry. I can hardly keep up with him these days.

As a side note, maybe its the increase in Vitamin D, but I think this little man has been uttering a few distinguishable words on these little walks. I'm pretty sure I've heard renditions of "car", "choo choo" and "thank you". I'll keep you posted if he keeps it up.