Light at the end of the tunnel...

Another visit to the eye doctor today who said the cornea is 'pristine'. There is a singular cell in the eye that should not be there but everything still looks good. Drop regimen stays the same: 2 drops of Lotomax and 2 drops of Combigan daily. That regimen  will be kept throughout our mission time.

So...January 9 is DECISION DAY. If the eye keeps looking as good as it has the past 3 weeks a medical release may be issued and our mission lives can move forward. We are keeping our fingers crossed and praying a lot and anxiously waiting for that day. 

I am pretty sure once the medical clearance is given  things will move really fast! So, we need to stay focused and organized so it is just a matter of packing our suitcases and showing up at the airport.

We have enjoyed a nice Christmas Holiday with our family as well as completing some necessary projects. We recognize many reasons that this delay has been a good thing. There is no getting around that the Lord is in charge and that He will allow what is best as long as we keep trusting Him.

The "weather outside is frightful!" and I realize that I really do not enjoy the cold, miserable, rainy weather which we have been subjected to these past several days. Grateful we are waiting it out in nice warm friendly circumstances but somehow the rain enhances the feelings of LIMBO.

January 1st is one of my favorite days! I love the idea that I have a fresh clean slate to begin again.

Looking through some of the Self Reliance Materials I came across this quote by Brigham Young, who said: "Time is all the capital stock there is on earth...if properly used it brings that which will add to your comfort, convenience and satisfaction. Let us consider this and no longer sit with our hands folded wasting time." Discourses of Brigham Young (1954), 214

So, I will wish you A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! with the hope that you will recognize the many opportunities which lie before you and that you will do your best to make it a great year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! and let the COUNTDOWN BEGIN...

We are very happy to report that per Steve's eye exam this past Monday his eye was still looking 'fabulous' and 'clear as crystal' and 'as if he had never had a transplant'! And although there is not yet an actual date for his medical release [that we are allowed to share] we can safely say it will be sooner than later. What an incredible relief and great blessing! A big thanks to all who have prayed for us and the well being of his eye. 
We are grateful.

We will continue to enjoy the remaining time with our family. We will celebrate Christmas here in Everson with our family. There have been cards to send, cookies to bake, a Christmas tree and just spending time. It is just nice to be here.

Yesterday I packed up the binders full of pictures, negatives, and old family letters which I have been sorting out for a few weeks now. I have sent off many pictures and letters to siblings in the process. Can you believe there are 62 binders?!!! Although I am not totally finished with the sorting, since three of the binders have undated pictures, it just felt

Just a little 'show and tell'

great to clear the table and pack them away knowing that I am almost done. If I have time I will tweak things a little more as I begin labelling the pictures. Which begs the question "why did I not label the pictures as they were printed?" If I had written at least the year and who was in the picture this job of organizing would have been so much easier. 

So, those of you who have been slacking as much as me, I hope you take a lesson from my mistakes. Do it now! Don't wait for that someday we all hope will come. How I wish my grandparents had labelled their pictures with who was in the pictures. The years are noted but I do not know the names of many of the people. So many awesome pictures of unknown 'someones' to whom I am related. We think we will never forget but we do; and those who have passed on without leaving their knowledge behind leave us at a great disadvantage when it comes to our photographic heritage.

In a few short days we will celebrate Christmas and the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. What a wonderful time of year! I love to hear the carols of Christmas! I love the message of the Gospel. I love the hope. I love the peace.

"May your days be merry and bright" and may you feel the peace that the Savior can bring to you heart.

🎄🎄🎄🌟Merry Christmas!!!🌟🎄🎄🎄

Freezing in limbo

We woke up to below freezing temperatures with lots of snow and a "snow day" for the grandkids. After debating whether we should try to drive to Steve's 8:00AM eye appointment we finally decided to brave the scary roads and snowy cold weather to get on our way. Unfortunately we chose to go by way of a road which we soon discovered had the traffic totally stopped. Later we learned that the traffic was stopped because there had been an 11 car pile up at an intersection. So glad we were not a part of that disaster!! 

We turned around, retraced our trip and then detoured another way. The further we drove the worse the weather became with huge snowflakes falling and making it generally miserable. It took us 1 1/2 hours to get to the doctor so we were 45 minutes late. Thankfully they could work us in - it seemed other patients also had travel trouble. 

After a quick check the doctor said the eye looked "fabulous!" which is very good news. It has seen improvement each week. His new drop regimen consists of 2 drops per day of the less potent Lotemax for one week. Then, next Monday, if the eye still looks great his dose will decrease to 1 drop per day. 

The not so good news is that the 1 drop per day regime will last about 3 weeks to make sure the eye is stable without flareups before the doctor will give a medical release and we can actually have a leave date to go on our mission. That means we will likely still be living with our daughter's family until at least mid January. The upside is we will get to enjoy Christmas with them. 

In the meantime I am still working hard to complete the organizing project of the family pictures. I am SOOOOO close to being done. With more time I may even get some of them scanned and uploaded.

I don't really do limbo very well. However I have learned through our many life experiences that the Lord always uses great economy with the events of our lives. I know that others will somehow  eventually be affected by our experiences. We acknowledge that the Lord is in charge and will do our best to accept His will and be patience under these peculiar circumstances. Maybe someday we will understand the "why".

Last night we attended our annual Stake Christmas Concert. It was so nice to be there. I look forward to it every year. It just feels like Christmas now. We had an hour of hearing and singing Christmas Carols, so many of them favorites. There is so much talent in our Stake and it was just a delight. The narrator told the history of many of the songs and carols which made it all the more interesting. What a wonderful time of the year when we can celebrate the Savior's birth.

Eye is much better but still in limbo...

Today Steve's eye looked even better than last week. His drop regimen was reduced from 4 drops per day to 3 drops per day. His eye pressure was much better. But a new appointment was still scheduled for next Monday. Even though things look great with the eye it must still be monitored for awhile.

With no departure date in sight I have struggled today. I like to have 'my ducks lined up' and know what is going on in my life. Yes, I like to have things under control.This business of living in limbo is not very comfortable for me. In fact I sort of had a melt down today. I feel the weight of our upcoming responsibilities and yet there is nothing at this point that I can do about fulfilling them.

I guess it is time to bring my faith front and center and remember that the Lord is in charge of everything and that includes when we are leaving for Sydney. I really do know that all is happening as it should but I have always struggled with 'changing horses midstream'. Of course there is always a purpose for whatever happens and maybe I need this experience to learn more than one lesson.

We are grateful that our 'homeless' condition is under such comfortable circumstances. I mean we have our own room in a warm home with plenty of food to eat and the company of our daughter, son-in-law, grandson and granddaughter who love us and seem to enjoy our company. And we will get to spend Christmas in their home. I am not complaining about that at all! But shifting my paradigm is kind of tough.

I hope we actually will find out some day why this delay was necessary.

With the crazy busy days we had before we moved out of our home we did not get to the temple as often as has been our habit. Finally last Friday we took a few hours and drove to the Vancouver Temple. What a wonderful time it was for us to be there again and to feel the Spirit. There is nothing like being in a temple. The peace and joy is indescribable. What a blessing it is for us to live close enough to attend the temple often.

It was our intent to send Christmas Greetings from Australia but not this year. I have spent some time thinking about Christmases past and the many good memories. It was always such a good time preparing Christmas for our children. There is something about the joyful anticipation of children during the Christmas season. I always loved it. There are so many pictures of the Christmas tree surrounded by gifts taken on Christmas Eve after the children were all safely tucked in their beds and we had prepared everything for the next morning. I always loved that time. 

And now we are back to just the two of us with no young children anymore. Even as we spend time with our families and the grandchildren it is not the same. And I have found myself pondering my thoughts of Christmas. Last night we watched the Christmas Broadcast with the First Presidency and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The music was wonderful as always but the talks were especially meaningful to me this year. 

One of the speakers discussed the birth of the Baby Jesus and then went on to discuss His sinless life and His mission for us, the Atonement and the Resurrection and how it all fit together for our good. The comment was that if all of those other parts of His life had not happened that He would have been just another baby who was born under rude circumstances. This is what Christmas is all about when we strip away the lights and tinsel. Our Savior was born so He could live His life and show us the way to live and then make the ultimate sacrifice for us so we can go back and live with our Heavenly Father again.

That is the wonderful reason we can celebrate this Christmas Season.