I outsmarted my computer and Smiles for the rest of Justin’s homecoming

If you read my last post you know that I was unhappy because my computer decided that it would not read my camera’s memory card any more. I had that card full of pictures that I wanted to share with you… but no…. my stupid, ornery computer refused.

I thought my camera card had gone bad and was about to give up when I got the bright idea of trying it in another computer. My daughter’s computer read it just fine. HURRAY!!!! All of my pictures were not lost after all. Lynell copied my pictures from her computer to a DVD and now I have them again.

Saving all of my pictures on that card made me smile.

 

Then my sweet daughter took me to Wal-Mart to get a new camera card which my computer seems to like better than it did the old one.

Being able to put pictures into my computer again makes me smile.

….But just in case my dumb temperamental computer decides it doesn’t like my new camera card, I am not going to let 800  many pictures build up again before I transfer them over to the computer and make CD copies. ( I hope!)

The rest of this morning’s smiles come from Justin’s mission homecoming open house pictures.

It was so wonderful having our sweet grandson home from his 2 year mission to Guatemala. We were smiling the whole week that we got to spend with him in Utah. I’ll share some of our other Utah smiles with you on my next post.

Here are the pictures from Justin’s homecoming that I couldn’t share with you last week.

At the airport he was greeted with balloons, signs and an army of people welcoming him back home. He got home on Thursday evening. We work at the temple every Thursday.  We did not want to miss more than 1 week of this sacred service so we did not leave for Utah until after our temple shift was over. We missed seeing him arrive at the airport so I don’t have those pictures to show you.  However, I think it worked out well that he had that first evening home with his immediate family anyway.

We drove 200 miles to the Nevada state line after our temple shift and then completed rest of the 700 mile journey on Friday. ( We did the same thing last year when we had our accident…. I was smiling that all went well this trip. There is no ice on the freeway in Sept.  That made me smile too.)

The family had gone all out in laying out the red carpet and decorating the house for Justin’s return.  Even the grass had hearts and a welcome home sign on it.

I can’t describe the joy of having this dear grandson return to us after having served an honorable mission in Guatemala bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to them.

We were thrilled to have him home but it was not easy for him to leave Guatemala and the many people that he had come to love there.

In a way returning home is even harder for our young missionaries than it is when they leave to go on their missions. Getting back into the secular life of college and a job can be a challenge when they have spent every day of the past 2 years studying the scriptures, praying and serving the Lord.

Signs welcoming him home were all over the house….

   Even at the stairs going down to his room.

After us all attending church with him where he gave a wonderful homecoming talk that touched all of our hearts we went back to his home for a nice open house. Friends and family came to welcome him home.

It was a wonderful joyous occasion for all of us.  Smiles were found everywhere.

The food was great…. but the company was better.

Grampy and I were so happy that we could be there to enjoy this perfect day with our Utah family and friends. Ernie had a band event that weekend and their family couldn’t join us….. but they were there in spirit with us too.

The count-down box Loni had made when Justin left is now on “0”. How fast the 2 years sped by….. (even with our accident thrown in the middle of it)…

Justin left a 19 year old  boy and returned a man.  I’m sure that his whole life will be bless from his willingness to sacrifice his money, time and energy in serving this mission.  I know that through this service to others he has learned a lot more than just the language.  I know that he has drawn closer to the Lord and learned the power of prayer.  I know he has a good life awaiting him.

My heart is full of Smiles!!!

We just got home from Utah. I look forward to catching up on reading your blogs now that I am back.

I hope that all of you are doing well and have a great week.

Hugs, Grammy Lura

Sunday Smiles for Justin

I am smiling from ear to ear today for the following reasons:

1. Our grandson, Justin, just returned from serving as a Mormon missionary for 2 years in Guatemala. Click HERE if you would like to read more about what our missionaries do.

2. Justin got home Thursday night

3. He served with all his heart and might for 2 years. He brought the gospel of Jesus Christ to those he came to love in Guatemala.

4. He learned to trust in the Lord and follow His promptings.

5. He left a 19 year old boy and returned a 21 year old man who knows how to sacrifice, work hard, speak Spanish fluently, love his fellowman and appreciate his family and country more than ever.

6. Our dear Justin is home and I can hug him for real…. and not just through my letters.

OK…. I know that all 6 of my smiles are really all the same…. Justin is home…. but I can’t help it.

I have lots of pictures to show you but my darn computer won’t read my camera card any more. I had to email these 5 pictures to me in order to put them on this post. I will show you more when I can figure out how to get them on my computer.

Health note…Thanks to those of you who were wishing me well after my last post. The kidney stone has not passed but the pain has settled down enough that I could make this trip to welcome Justin home. I am thankful for that.  The doctor is going to zap the stone when I get home and get rid of it. I am happy about that. I am praying that it will not get really painful again during this trip and I can make it home OK.

Have a great week. 

Hugs, Lura

Thoughts on Pain

I spent most of the day Thursday in Urgent care. I woke up early Thursday with terrible pain in my side and back. I was having a hard time breathing because it hurt so bad to take a breath. It reminded me of when I was in the hospital last year. I thought maybe I was having problems with my ribs again. I was a bit scared.

I woke John and he took me to Urgent care at Kaiser.

After x-rays and a C.T. scan ….

….they told me that my ribs were not the problem…

…. it was a kidney stone. This surprised me because when I had a kidney stone 2 years ago I had terrible pain but it was in my lower abdomen not up by my rib cage.

They Kept me for a few hours and gave me lots of advice

After giving me a shot for pain and some pain pills….

… they sent me home. 

I have not passed the stone yet but I am not as miserable as I was Thursday. Through prayer and pills,  I am tolerating the discomfort pretty well…. but then the stone is still in my kidney. I dread the time when it starts to move because I know from experience that brings severe pain…. even with pain pills to help.

…

This new round of pain has made me think about the role pain plays in my life. It seems to me that I have had a lot of it.

I’ve had 6 major surgeries and 3 minor surgeries…

I’ve had 18 broken bones….. 16 of them all at once last year…

I’ve had a collapsed lung…

I’ve had a torn Achilles tendon and planters fasciitis in both feet which put me in a boot for over a year and in a wheelchair for a few months.

I’ve been in 3 car accidents (none of them my fault) and had a couple of falls that injured my back and neck.

A child fell at the nursery school I ran at the high school and hit me in the eye which ruptured my retina. This cause me to go blind in that eye for a few months until I could have eye surgery. That was very painful.

Doctors tell me that my ribs have healed but they will always be painful.

  What have these experiences taught me????  I’ve been thinking a lot about that.

1. The pain reminds me how much I need my Heavenly Father’s help and blessing. He helps me get through what ever pain I’m having.  I could not endure all of this without His help.

2. It has taught me that the power of prayers is real.  I have felt the strength of prayers supporting me.

3. It has helped me love and appreciate our Savior more than ever. I do not suffer my pains willingly…… I hate pain…. I try to avoid it however I can…. But our Savior loved us so much that He willingly took all of our pains upon Himself. The more that I have suffered, the more I’m amazed at the sacrifice Jesus made for us.

4. Having terrible pain makes me more appreciate the days I just have uncomfortable pain….. Having uncomfortable pain makes me more appreciate the days that I just have a little pain.

5. Having had quite a large share of pain in my life has made me more sensitive to others who suffer. Hopefully I am better than I used to be at comforting others who need it.

6. No matter how severe physical pain can be, it is not as bad as having emotional pain. The pain I felt when our baby died, or when I’ve watched my children and grandchildren suffer, or when I thought John was dead after our car accident last year…. was much worse than any physical pain I’ve experienced.

I’m thankful that my life has been so blessed and that I’ve not had a lot of emotional pain to endure.

I’m thankful that I know my Heavenly Father is always there to help me get through the physical pain that comes my way.

He will help me get through passing this kidney stone.

I hope that you are having a good week.

Many Hugs, Grammy Lura

 

Roaming Wyoming Smiles

We recently returned from our family camping/rafting trip to Wyoming and our family reunion in Utah.  We put 2,225 miles on our little car as we drove through parts of California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and a tip of Arizona to get there and back.  That is a long trip….. and a lot of sitting…. but  it is always worth the effort when we get to spend time with dear family.

As soon as we got to Wyoming we were greeted by a mama deer. She didn’t hang around long but my friend Patti who lives there says that the whole family comes to visit her almost everyday. Beautiful Wyoming makes me smile.

As soon as camp was set up, we started preparing dinner. If you are thinking hot dogs and chips you are wrong….

Our kids have mastered the art of camp cooking. Every meal was a feast like this one made up of Tri-tip, baked potatoes, salad, corn , etc..

We all took turns helping and every meal turned out great.

  Each night after dinner we had  Dutch oven desserts like these berry and apple cobblers.

Our Camp meals made us all smile.

Of course the best part was being with all 4 of our children and their families. It was the first time that we had all been together at the river for many years.  Justin who is serving as a missionary in Guatemala was the only one who was not there with us.  Being with our kids and grands really made us smile.

From our oldest grandson, Jordan to our youngest granddaughter, Ellie….

And all in between….. we all had a wonderful time together.

There was singing around the campfire….

There was plenty of hot chocolate and hugs to warm us and make us smile.

The main attraction for most of our group was rafting down the Snake river.

I can’t go on the rapids any more since I broke all my ribs last year….

But I did go on the gentle “Little Kid” float and had fun with the wee ones.

Wouldn’t these cute kids make you smile???

Erin taught us to sing a hymn in ASL (American sign language)

We enjoyed a lovely dinner and show at Bar J again this year.

Going to Bar J always makes me smile.

It was a great vacation in Wyoming…. and John and I really lucked out. Our good friends, Patti and Ronnie moved to Wyoming and live only 27 miles from the place we camp each year.  This year we stayed with them each night. We slept in a soft, cozy bed and had our own bathroom to use. That made me smile. Since my ribs are still tender that worked out great for and was much better than staying in our trailer.

While we were there we went to the county fair with Patti. This beautiful heirloom baby dress she made won a blue ribbon and the “Best of Show” award. I was so proud of her.

I know this is a long blog and I’ve put in lots of pictures. I couldn’t help it. I just had to share all of these smiles with you.

I feel so blessed and thankful that we could make this trip this year. I was flat in bed this time last year and we couldn’t go. I am thankful that I have healed enough to go and enjoy this wonderful time with family.

I hope that all of you are doing well.  I am sending you hugs.

Have a great week.