Sad News for Us

I usually have smiles in the title of my posts….. because I always have a lot to smile about….

…but today I feel like calling my post “Grammy’s tears” instead of Grammy’s Smiles”

Those of you who follow my blog know that our grandson, Johnny, is on the USA National Men’s Gymnastic team. At Nationals in May he came in 2nd in his age group on P-bars and 9th in the nation overall.

Doing so well at Nationals qualified him to move on to the P&G Championships this August to compete to be on the National team again.  He has loved being on the National team and representing our country at international competitions.  He looked forward with great anticipation to being on the team for the 3rd year.

However that is a dream that is not to be accomplished.

His shoulder has been hurting since before Nationals. The Olympic doctors iced it,  sent him to therapy and did all of the usual things to help it feel better….. but it just kept getting worse.

While he was training at the Olympic center in Colorado last week, the doctors looked at a new MRI and found that not only is there a tear in his rotator cuff muscle, but also the labrum (cartilage in the shoulder).  Both injuries require surgery which will put him out of action for 3 months or so.  Johnny wants to be on the National team so badly that he was willing to go ahead and compete at P&G with pain meds and a cortisone shot. The Olympic doctors considered it but ended up saying for his own health and future  he should not compete this year.    We all agree with them but it makes us so sad.

You can’t even begin to imagine all the work and effort Johnny has put into this goal. This injury right before qualifications is devastating.

  However, he got a very nice letter from the Olympic committee telling him that they know this is a “hard blow” but “it is only a bump in the road”. They said that they consider Johnny to be “the whole package” and look forward to him representing our country internationally again when he is healed. That made Johnny and all of us feel better but we are still sad about him being out this year. But….

…if he wasn’t disqualified because of his torn rotator cuff and labrum… he would be out now because of his foot. He was working on the pommel horse last night (the doctor said it was OK for him to keep training….just not to do things that hurt his shoulder)  He turned his ankle on the landing and tore 2 ligaments and has a possible fracture in his ankle.

I went to the doctor with him. The doctor said the good news is that by the time he has recovered from the shoulder surgery, his ankle will be healed…. In the doctor’s words….”This will just be a bad memory”.

So…. Johnny will not be on the National Team this year. Tears have been shed…. but there are also smiles. I am glad that the Olympic doctors are seeing that he gets the best of care. I am glad that he is expected to fully recover.  I am glad that this sweet boy has faith and such a good attitude in spite of the disappointment.

There is much to be thankful about…. so I’ve got to dry these tears and start smiling…. and I will.

Hugs, Grammy Lura

Happy Birthday Smiles again

Last week I told you about my friend, Jan’s birthday. Today we celebrated my daughter Mindy’s birthday. As a mother I love any day that is spent with my children, but there is something extra special about birthdays.

A child’s birthday takes you back through the years. You think about many things…. like the day they were born…their childhood stepping stones….the way they grew and matured…. so many special moments along the way

We were glad that we could celebrate with our precious Mindy today. My heart is tender as I think back over her life. She was my second daughter. Before she was born I was a bit worried that I could never love another child as much as I did our first born. But, the minute they put Mindy into my arms I knew I was wrong. I looked into her eyes and knew I loved her with all my heart. That was true then and it is true today.

She has grown to be everything that I hoped she would be. She is a wonderful daughter , wife, mother and person.  She is a talented  musician. She has her Master’s degree in speech therapy. She is hard working and caring. She loves the Lord and tries to live by His teachings and commandments.

Because of their tight schedule today, I took birthday dinner out to their home instead of having them come to our house.

Of course no birthday dinner is complete without a cake.

Claire lit the candles.  We all sang Happy Birthday….

…Mindy blew out the candles with a little help from Austin and then opened the gifts. It was a nice day.

How do you celebrate the life a darling daughter?  Dinner, cake and gifts don’t begin to express the feelings of my heart. Each of my children is a precious jewel…. a treasure to me. On each of their birthdays my heart is full of gratitude for the good people they are and the joy they bring into my life. I am so thankful that this sweet daughter lives close to us and I could be with her to celebrate today. She has blessed my life since the day she was born.

Happy Birthday Dear Mindy….. may you have many more.

Hugs, Mom

How to have a perfect Family Reunion

As my readers know, we just got back from our Wyoming family rafting/Camping trip. If you didn’t see my last post, please take a look at it and watch the great video Patrick made of our adventures. He did a great job filming us rafting the Snake River Rapids.

John and Lura’s family at our Annual Utah reunion

Almost all of our immediate family goes to the river but there are several of John’s family that don’t join us there. We always have a Utah family reunion after our river trip.

Our family group was in charge of organizing it this year. Since Lynell is our oldest child living in Utah she took charge. She and her family did a great job. Here is what she did. I think these are good guidelines for a perfect family reunion.

1. She reserved a park well in advance. You may not find a good place if you wait until the last minute.

2. She made sure that there are enough covered tables to accommodate everyone.  Lynell had to change the park as more families responded.

3. She made sure every family was notified in advance so they could make arrangements to come.

All of Bill’s, Forrest’s and John’s families were invited.(Can you guess who is the baby of the group still playing tricks on his big brother by holding a hat over his head???) These 3 brothers have a total of 15 living children who nearly all have children of their own so you can see that they are the patriarchs of a large group.  We had children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins…. greats and grands all over the place.

The old folks…RoLayne, Forrest, John, Lura, Bill and Carol

4. Have name tags for everyone to wear. Have them color coded for each line they descend from. That way no one(especially me) is embarrassed by not remembering someone’s name. I know the names of all my nieces and nephews and their spouses but I don’t always remember the names of their children and grandchildren. Nametags help me out.

5. Be sure that there is lots of good food but make it easy on yourself.  Each family brought their own main course and a dish to share. Lynell assigned each family to bring a side dish or a dessert. We had plenty of good food.

Lynell rented a snow-cone machine this year.

It was a hit with everyone.

You might consider renting one for your next gathering. Everyone loved the cold treat on the hot day.

6. Plan a program to introduce new members of the family and announce family activities and accomplishment during the past year. Our Mindy was the M.C. this year. Give each family a time to take part but limit the time because you don’t want the program to drag on too long.

7. Be sure you assign someone to be your family photographer. (Can you guess who our photographer was???)

You want to get pics of everyone attending. You never know if you will be together again. Sadly we have one niece, Joan who was not with us this year because her dear husband, Merrill is dying of cancer. He was well and strong last year. Never take life for granted. Every day is precious…. Document each special occasion.

8. Plan activities that are fun for the different age groups.

We had volleyball and tennis available for the athletically inclined.

Patrick brought his plane which dropped parachutes

for the kids to run and catch.

Lynell rented this blow up slide which was also lots of fun

for all ages to enjoy. We divided up the cost of the slide and the snow-cone machine between us so it was not a burden on anyone.

For some of us just being together and visiting was all the activity we were up to.

As I mentioned, we have this reunion every year. It is a highlight of our year. I think it is wonderful for our families from various locations to get together. I especially enjoy seeing all the little cousins playing together. Our love grows as we spend time together. If you are not having family reunions why don’t you start making them one of your traditions. I think you will be glad you did.

I’m thankful for our dear family, both immediate and extended. I feel blessed that we could get together again this year and spend time with them.

I’m back in CA now. Erin and her two little ones came home with us. We are still busy but I will have time to visit you all after they leave.  Have a great week.

Hugs, Grammy Lura