Today, 3 February, is the 47th anniversary of the day Sandy and I were baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Sacramento, CA. We have never regretted that decision, and while the world's standards have modified over that time, the standards of the Church have remained a firm foundation upon which to build.
Last Sunday we had attended church at Sally's ward in Downey and enjoyed a quiet family oriented afternoon with Sally and Steve, Adam's family and Savannah's parents. Adam's family returned to their hotel across from Disneyland while Sandy and I stayed the night with Sally.
By 715 am Monday we were on the freeway to join Adam and family at Disneyland. We had a wheel chair for Sandy and she was able to participate in all the activities she desired.
I will admit it is easier to push a stroller than a wheelchair, especially when the park is crowded. The evening was winding down; we had split into two groups and were planning to join up and head home when Savannah received a text: her mother had fallen while walking down the exit corridor from a ride in Tomorrow Land. She did something of a face plant, landing on her right arm. There was an ER nurse right behind her and she was able to offer some comfort until Disney personnel came to aid. An ambulance was called and she was taken to a local hospital for care.
We all headed back to Adam's hotel and he and I took his in-law's car to the hospital, which was about a 5 minute ride away. It was a small hospital with a crowded ER room. We were the only gringos there. Geneve said afterwords that there was no room for her, so they parked her gurney in the hallway, next to a prisoner with some injures - that would account for the presence of three police officers. Once we knew things were settled, Sandy and I headed home about 9 pm. It was a long day for Sandy, but she held up well and enjoyed several rides. I was particularly impressed with Disney's attention to accommodate handicapped individuals.
Tuesday was the final day at Disneyland. I connected with the family before 830 am and even Geneve was there with her broken humorous in a splint. We were able to open the park. They choose one family at each entrance to do this. That means they check us in and we greet all those in line and shout: "Let the Adventure Begin". That also gave us a 30 second head start on the crowds to get to the park section we wanted to visit. Then we waited until 9 am when they officially opened the park. And then the fun continued. I opted to go on the roller coaster again and found it more enjoyable the second time since I had some idea of what to expect.The children visited with several of the Disney characters.
By 7 pm we were all ready to call it quits. Geneve survived the day, the children were remarkably well behaved and we all enjoyed the rides we went on. We averaged 8-10 miles for each of the four days at the park. The weather was beautiful and the temperatures just right. It was a most memorable excursion. I drove back to Sally's for the night.
Wednesday Sandy and I were up early so we could pack and get on the road; we were headed to the LA Temple do perform some ordinances. We had hopes of going to the Newport Beach Temple which is close to where we are staying in Laguna Woods, but it is closed. Driving the freeway in LA is similar to navigating the streets of crowded Disneyland; just be patient and go with the flow. We stayed for one session, had lunch at the cafeteria and drove home before the rush.
Thursday, I left Sandy at the house and drove to the San Diego Temple (less freeway traffic). Another beautiful day to be on the road. 60 minutes later I was in the parking lot. This is an amazingly magnificent building! I was able to get several ordinances done before leaving about 130 pm. And it started to rain; and it rained on the entire trip back to Laguna Woods! What is it doing raining in Southern California!? Once there, I started packing up items in the house to go to local charities so the house can be prepared for going on the market.
Friday was another day of cleaning out and organizing. Sally came down and spent the afternoon helping. A realtor had advised changing out the dining room light fixture and replacing the kitchen cabinet handles. So we went to Salvation Army to drop off several boxes of usable items and visited Home Depot to get a light fixture and handles. We managed to get most of those installed by the time Sue and (my brother) Steve arrived. Cynthia and Jim had invited us to dinner at their house that evening to celebrate Aunt Ruth's 95th birthday. Good food, great family get together.
Saturday we were up early (again) to go to the LA Temple. Sally was able to do the research for Cousin Walt's work and the six of us met at the temple to perform those ordinances. This time, due to the amount of walking required, we had requested a wheelchair for Sandy. We told the temple we would be there at 930, but there was a good brother sitting in the chair with an umbrella due to the rain, waiting for us. He had been there since 9. Sandy had someone to push the entire time we were in the temple; they were so accommodating of her! We finished an endowment session with sealings; the sealer was very personable and it was a very spiritually uplifting experience. Then lunch again at the temple (good food!) and then Sue drove us home, in the rain (what, two days of rain?!). Once home, there was still time to box up some stuff for disposal.
Today we attended the Wood Canyon Ward and had a wonderfully spiritual filled testimony meeting. The Sunday School lesson focused on Christ as the Light of the World; we all have that Light within us and should be letting it shine forth the same way the Savior does. And it was raining again today!
Although Sandy has been dragged all over Disneyland, been to the LA temple twice and other activities, she has maintained a good attitude. Her energy level has been drained, but she is still positive. She is still not ready to leap tall buildings in a single bound. The smaller of her two abdominal incisions appears to be fully healed over and the larger one is significantly smaller. She has spent 10 days on her new cancer treatment and it appears too early to know if it is helping. As always, we remain optimistic about her recovery.
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