O.K. here goes!!!!

Again, time sure has gotten away from me!!!! Monday night!!!!! I keep thinking I need to make my posts shorter, but then I seem to have so much to say, and now, I have to catch up on several days!!!!

Actually, the week has been great. On Friday, Norm graduated from two speech therapy visits per week, to one. That is wonderful news. He really is doing well and Jim is really pleased. I think it is a good idea to sort of space the visits apart so that we can have help longer. I think it will be good for us to learn to work on things at home, also. Plus, it will save us some gas money because we only have to go to Provo once a week. All the people there have worked hard for Norms recovery and I will miss them, but the result of the whole thing is to get Norm healthy and home. It has done that, and now it is time for others to get that wonderful help.

Christy happened to be working at the hospital on Friday, so, after we got done with Speech we went out to lunch together. It was good to visit with her.

Thursday, Katie came by for a visit. It is always fun when she comes. I hurried and got some stuff done in the morning and then when Katie came, we just played. I put a "blankie" out on the lawn and we just stayed out there and enjoyed the evening. Grandpa even got to play with her a bit.

On Tuesday, our grandaughter EmberLee had a visit with Dr. Bacon who is taking care of her broken arm. At first the doctor wrapped it and put it in a sling-sort-of thing and Ember kept taking it off, so, when they went in for her checkup, the doctor decided that maybe a cast would be a better thing.

The reason they didn't cast it in the first place is because of the trauma of taking it off. I guess they have to use a saw and it is pretty scary. The bones are lined up really well and everything looks good, but they decided not to take a chance on a wild and crazy four year old. Ty and Jake figure if they talk to her about what will happen and maybe let her use the I Pod to let her listen to music, hopefully she will do alright. She is a pretty brave little kid when she is prepared. When she had her ears pierced, she didn't make a peep. (I stole this picture from her moms blog....cause she stole from mine first!)

Cardiac rehab has been really good. Norm is very tired when he finishes, but is making wonderful progress. He is doing 22 minutes on the treadmill and 22 minutes on the bike. He takes a rest in between, but that is just amazing. Chad, (the Top Taco of Cardiac Rehab) says that he is going at a faster pace than ever before, and going longer, so, he is on his way. They check his oxygen sats, blood pressure and heart rate several times during excercise and during rests, and they are pleased with the results.

On Saturday, we went to a family reunion with Norms brother. It was for Norms mothers side of the family and located down in Mayfield (about an hour and a half south of here). I was concerned about how Norm would deal with the heat and dust and stuff, and also being so far away from home, if he got to feeling bad, but it was wonderful. He went all day with very little coughing and no oxygen. I was surprized. He sure was tired when we got home, but very glad he went. There were seven children in his mothers family and only two of them are still alive, so we really wanted to visit with the siblings that are left and the families of the others. Plus, Norm lost a favorite cousin this last month so we all wanted to be there with her family.

It was nice to spend some time with Norms brother too. He was diagnosed with colon cancer last December, and has been fighting hard, so we all spend all of the time we can with him.

All in all, it really was a nice day. Norm did well, there was tons of good food to eat and lots of good conversation. There has been a lot of serious sickness and unhappy happenings in this family this year, so we are all feeling the need to stay closer, I think.

Sunday we were able to go to church and stay the whole time. Norm needed oxygen for a short time, but was soon able to take it off and enjoy the meetings. It is nice to be able to go back to church. We were able to go to a short service while in the hospital, when Norm could make it, but it is not the same as being with your own ward.

Today, Norm had an appointment with his cardiologist. It is always kind of scary to go there. I love Dr. Walker, but I worry about Norm going back into A-fib. But, the news was good....he is still in sinus rhythm. Dr. Walker said he is doing very well and to keep up the good work. He told us about some meds we might want to try for allergies, which we think is what is causing Norms cough. Dr. Walker did a real thorough "listen" to Norms lungs and said they sound really clear. That was good news too. He wants to see Norm in a month for a "pacer check" and to check again for A-fib. I asked him how long it would be before Norm could get off Coumadin, if he stayed in Sinus rhythm and he said maybe four or five weeks, but with Norm they want to make sure, because of his history of going in and out of A-fib, so, it may be a bit longer. We shall see. It will be nice for him not to have to take "rat poisin" anymore.

After Dr. Walker, we went and got a hamburger and shoved it down in time to make it to Cardiac Rehab. It is hard to excercise on a full stomach, so it was a bit harder today. But, he got 'er done.

Then, we went to the bank because a lady there is helping us to get our account balanced and sorted out. It was such a relief to walk out of that bank and know everything was balanced and done right and we knew right where we were.

Then we went to Lowes to get some paint stripper for a mirror I bought at a yard sale, some corner decorations for some picture frames Norm is going to make for me, and aireator for my kitchen sink so I don't get a shower everytime I turn the water on!!!....and we were looking for a part for our lawn mower.

Then, we went to Costco to get some gas and got the shock of our lives!!! (Well, almost!) Costco is the cheapest gas you can get around here and it still cost us $58.00 to fill up our gas tank. We certainly are going to curtail our driving!!!!

Then, we went to Wal Mart. Got some allergy meds to try and a couple of other things, and then........................................................................................................................................................,

we went to Macey's and got ice cream!!! It has been a long time since we have been really bad like that.

So, all of that running around took us all day!!! We got home, fixed dinner and sat down to eat, just a little before 8:00. Pretty bad, huh. Needless to say, we are both pooped. Pooped, but happy.

So, good night to all!!!! It has been a long but good day!!! Nothing to do tomorrow except weeds, dirty laundry, dishes, toilets, vacuuming, mowing, dusting and all that other fun stuff. Ahhhhhhhhhh, what a life!!!!! I'm not complaining! (Maybe just a little!)

My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can. ~Cary Grant