It will be Fun!

Monday was my birthday!! I celebrated by taking Rebecca and Marian to shop at Branson, have a hot fudge sundae at my favorite frozen custard place and pick up Sally at the airport. Came home for a wonderful dinner and, of course, a chocolate cake for dessert. There were now 18 of us to house and feed for a couple of days, but we managed. Some might inquire if the chaos was too much for Sandy, but she enjoys the laughter and the visiting. If it is too much for her, she just takes a nap.

While I was gone, Jonathan and Ian removed the front steps in anticipation of an updated version.

Work is to start this week; we might even have a finished picture for next week.

We had a delightful week with Sally and Sandy really enjoyed her visit. On Tuesday, she joined us as we visited one of the three funeral homes in town to make preliminary arrangements with them. Sally did not disclose her husband's occupation, but did ask if it was okay to provide your own casket; and it is. So she is researching the type Sandy liked. We also stopped by the local small cemetery down the road from us; we met the next day with the caretaker who showed us where her plot will be, on a small hillside surrounded by trees in a quiet setting. We paid him $400 for two side by side plots and he will mark those for us.We also stopped by the monument store at the end of the road and looked at what they have to offer. You can get some really fancy headstones.

I was keeping a rough tally of the costs associated with a funeral; it is not cheap to die! But I keep telling myself it is only money. And she is worth it!!

Wednesday, Ian, Deborah, Sarah, Callie and I visited Deborah's rent house to mow and trim and clean up. We spent a successful hour achieving our purpose and then checked out the inside to see if the roach infestation was under control.  It was not; we found out later that there had been a mix up in communication and the exterminator had not been out to spray. Made me feel better, but a little upset that we had lost a week. We opened the frig door, but the results are too graphic to share!  Just know, there were a lot of them.

That evening, following dinner, Deborah's family headed home with Callie. Sarah's stake had their youth conference and she had invited Callie to join her It appears that they enjoyed themselves.

Thursday morning we discovered that our month old 8 chicks were now orphans. Never did find the mom, but there was evidence that she had been pulled through the 2 inch by 4 inch fence. I set the trap that night but did not have the trigger properly set. This is what I found Saturday morning though:

Mom and one baby were in the cage; the other two babies were on the outside, huddled next to the cage. I was able to get the two into cat carriers and Dan drove all of them several miles away to a secluded area to release them. It was interesting; the very predator that had eaten one of the chickens were now within 25 feet of the baby chicks (they are small enough to slip through the pen) and were not the least bit interested in them.

Saturday, Rebecca and Miranda drove Sally back to the Branson Airport and then met Deborah in Harrison to pick up Callie and Sarah (who will remain with us until Miranda returns home this week). While they were gone, we attended the ward Pioneer Day activity, which included lunch and an indoor pioneer trek (I did not participate in this activity and therefore cannot address it, though the G-Kids enjoyed it). Sandy used the wheelchair for the first time since the cruise. Our good friend Tanya, from Ohio, arrived in time for dinner and we had a quiet evening visiting. She will spend a few days and go through Sandy's horse stuff and find good homes for her items; Sandy still has some tack, saddles, fencing material etc that we do no longer need.

Today we again had great meetings. The priesthood lesson was on Elder Hale's conference talk on prayer. Prayers are answered in God's time and not ours, and He starts with the end in mind. And we don't always receive what we ask for because He knows what we need better than we do.

Hospice visits at least twice a week and they are marvelous.

Chaos continues to reign!

This was the week of 90+ degree weather and 95%+ humidity. I am very good at sweating.

Rebecca continues to spoil us with yummy meals and great experiences; her girls are a delight to have in the home. Each girl has her own personality that compliments and adds to an enjoyable spirit in the home.

I kept busy taking care of administrative stuff in town and mowing  lawns at two of the rental homes plus one  for a church family. Fortunately, I have grandchildren interested in mowing who help with the yard at our house. I also had my semi annual dermatology appointment and nothing new was found.

We were to meet Thursday with our attorney about a trust fund Sandy wanted to start up; however, it is more complicated that he thought so we ended up signing other paper work they had been working on.

Dan arrived late Thursday night between counseling jobs and stayed until Friday afternoon. He was able to get the blades on two of the mowers sharpened while I tackled the bushhog blades.

Deborah's family arrived Friday afternoon; Andy and Aaron arrived in time for a delicious chicken pot pie dinner.

Saturday I attended the funeral of a 40 year old that suffered from depression and ultimately took his life. He did not live locally, but I had met him once; his mother and sister did live in our ward. It was a great service. The final speaker said:  let me get the elephant out in the open, there is a misdirected sectarian view that those who commit suicide are damned; that is hogwash! It simply is not true.  He then went on to share the joy of the plan of salvation.

I dashed home so we could set up the upstairs for our 3rd annual pie fest. Rebecca had been busy all week baking pies and was still baking them up until the activity began at 3 pm. She made 22 pies, I contributed two pumpkins and people brought five more.  The grand children were busy making signs directing people to the entry door and to where the pies were. And Jonathan arrived with Zachary and Emily just in time for pie.  Was nice to have four of our six children here for a time.

This sign is worth reading!

The older children were most helpful getting the pies labeled and set out, making sure there were plates, napkins and forks. We invited the sister missionaries to come a little early to help cut the pies.

And I forgot to get pictures of the people that were here. I had anticipated that people would come, have some pie, spend a few minutes visiting and depart; but most of them stayed for a long time.  Even when it got up to 80 degrees in the house (the ac could not keep it cooler on a 95 degree day and so many bodies).We had standing room only; it was great to visit with those that came. I estimate about 60 people stopped to eat. and we did have the equivalent of about three pies left over.

Andy and Aaron left after pie, so we are down to only 18 in the house.

Today, after church, Callie received her patriarchal blessing. A very sweet experience.

Sandy News:  she re enrolled in Hospice this past week. They have provided her great suggestions for some of her concerns and she seems to be doing better. Much more personalized care and help than the doctors who basically decided there was nothing more they could do for her.

A lovely chaotic week

Monday AM I called the lady at the lawyers office about rearranging our trust assets; she would have to check with the lawyer (our stake patriarch). He called a couple of hours later - could we meet at 4:30 that afternoon, and bring our tax consultant?  I was impressed that he personally called and that he had time to meet with us that day. After almost two hours of diagrams, explanations and questions, we learned that yes we can shift all the rental homes into Sandy's trust for tax purposes.  He also explained a method that would shelter our assets in the event long term nursing care is required; we opted not to go that way.  Sandy was beat after that session and we came home to a wonderful dinner prepared by Rebecca (again!). Then Kristy arrived that Monday evening with her five children.

Tuesday I took Isabelle to mow Deborah's overgrown rent house yard while I cut back the brush growing through the fence on from the neighbor's yard.

There was much fun and rejoicing as cousins were able to play and have fun. We spent one evening having the grand children ask Sandy questions about her growing up and her childhood; it was well received by all. Then Wednesday afternoon Kera with three children arrived and Kristy left in the evening. More fun activities over the next couple of days. They especially enjoy making bead thingies that are then ironed.

I had gotten Sandy and later two of Charlotte's siblings Fox t-shirts for working at the house a couple of months ago. Charlotte liked it enough to buy her own and here she is with Sandy.

Sandy saw Clifford again on Thursday. Then I took Callie with me to Deborah's rent house to clean it out. The tenant had moved and left a lot of stuff behind; like 1180 pounds worth! They also left an abundance of fleas and roaches, ugh! We bombed... twice to knock down the population. Then we loaded trash, clothes, sofas, and other stuff into the trailer and delivered it to the transfer station.

While Kera was here she helped Tom implement his  vision for a new mail box. It was an early birthday present and She did an amazing job painting Foxes on our new mail box.  All of us are thrilled with Kera's artistic talents. We hope this will help people better identify our house.





Friday Kera took her children home in the afternoon. Matthew was able to mow Adam's rent house and we got an offer on his house. Unfortunately, it was for less than we were willing to accept and countered. Have not heard back from the potential buyer. Around 8 pm Friday, a family of four that were good friends of Rebecca when they lived in Iwakuni drove from Ft Riley Kansas where the husband is station, to visit for the weekend. Again, lots of fun with their two children, 6 and 8.

Here is Rylee with her friend Taylor:

Today we again had some great council from the pulpit. Kaden, Lacey Arndt's 12 year old son delivered an impressive talk about the Family, a Proclamation to the World. I had submitted the names of three youth to serve as Temple and Family History Consultants; they were called and set apart today. Their initial purpose will be to visit all the youth, see that Family Tree is downloaded in their phones/tablets/devices and that they have four generations researched. If not, they will assist them to do so.

Our next family guests arrive Friday when Deborah and children come to visit. And next Saturday is the 3rd Annual Pie Fest at our house. Rebecca has already started making pies that can be frozen, but the real baking will start in earnest later this week. Family and friends are invited.

Sandy update:  her health is slowly declining. She has traded her will to win this battle with cancer to one of finding joy and happiness in her remaining time and leaving with dignity.

There is an elephant in my room!

The first part of the week was spent in a variety of activities, most of which involved sweating since they were outside. There was a fence to uncover from unwanted underbrush growth, a pasture to bush hog, a lawn to mow and a garden to weed.  Any one need any beans?  We got plenty!

Wednesday Sandy had her first CT scan since January. Thursday was an uneventful to us July 4th. Friday Sandy had an appointment with the oncologist about her scan results.  No improvement; all areas only showed increased cancer growth. The most growth was in the abdominal cavity and the liver; but the doctor said the liver is very resilient and lower on the extended pain level. The immunotherapy treatments evidently have not been successful and therefore will not be continued. We left feeling disappointed in the results since our hopes and prayers had been for improvement; however, it did not come as a real surprise. Sandy had been 'slowing' down over the past few days: increased pain, less appetite, less energy.

Which brings me to that big elephant in the room; we can address the final days issue without fear.We can officially acknowledge that Sandy is dying, we just don't know how long she will remain with us. Sort of like the Second Coming of the Savior; we know it is coming, but not the date, so we do all we can to be prepared for that time.

Friday evening I drove to Springfield MO to pick up Rebecca and her four girls. I can't drive through Springfield without stopping at Andy's Frozen Custard; they have great hot fudge sundaes. After logging over 24 hours of terminal/flight time, they were bright and cheery when they arrived.

 We were home by 1230 am. So you know that Saturday was a slow day for all.  We did get to Walmart to stock up on food.

Today we had church. Good testimonies were shared and we had a good lesson on the importance of the holy ghost in our lives. It was pointed out that we need to help our children learn to recognize the spirit and then act upon its promptings.

Rebecca is now busy making waffles for dinner; after all, we need something scrumptious to put the strawberries on!

Summer has arrived!

Congratulations to Ben on his perseverance and patience in finally getting his septic tank installed!!

Monday AM I went running. Then showered and got the last couple of items completed on the rent house so we could meet with two different realtors later in the morning. One came prepared with some comps for the area; she had evidently scoped out the house in the previous days and had a good knowledge of the area and quoted a price range lower than we had hoped for.  The second realtor has been rated number one in the area for the last couple of years and brought his assistant with him. They addressed a variety of issues, such as potential market (investor or first time buyer), concerns about home inspections, loans, and other items we had not considered. We liked his approach and marketing strategy, but our sense of loyalty to a good friend pulled us his way. We hope to have paper work signed tomorrow and have the house on the market. Sandy had a chiro appointment later in the day.  Since she has not felt up to driving lately, I am now "driving for Sandy' full time.

Tuesday was the birthday of one of our sister missionaries; another ward member invited us to join him for lunch to celebrate and we had a delightfully low key meal at the local Italian Restaurant. How does anyone ever eat all the food they serve? We brought home enough for two more meals!

Wednesday I went running again. Then took truck to the mechanic for a new ignition key and then Sandy to the chiro in the afternoon. She is doing well enough that she does not need to return unless she feels the need to.

Thursday AM Sandy had an appointment with Clifford. I brought her home at 10 am so she could change before driving to Jonathan's for the night. We made the required stop at Harry and David's for medicinal chocolate and then at Andy's Frozen Custard for the mandatory hot fudge sundae. We spent a quiet evening with the MO Foxes, although Jonathan was with the scouts on their high adventure camp.  Aaron was also at the camp.  Charlotte and Matthew were visiting for the week so we got to visit with them as well.

The purpose for this trip was obviously to visit family, but also to have a shorter drive to the theater in Springfield that was showing "The Other Side of Heaven, Part 2".  So Friday mid morning, Kristy and Isabelle drove their car to Springfield and we met them at the theater to view the film. Some dramatic anxiety inducing scenes with a powerful message about forgiveness, service and love of the Savior. Worth Watching!!! And since we were in Springfield, and there was an Andy's nearby, we had to stop for another hot fudge sundae before we headed home. We made a quick stop in Harrison at Aldi's to stock up on staples and were home by 630 pm. It was an early night to bed.

I was up early Saturday morning to be at the local college to run the Red, White and Blue 5 k sponsored by the Mountain Home police department. I was nervous about running since sickness kept me from training for four weeks and I only had 12 days of practice to prepare. It was a hot and humid morning that greeted us. I started off faster than anticipated and slowed throughout the race, but still did better than anticipated. And I did not die!  It was my slowest time ever (maybe I am aging), but was under 35 minutes (by one second). Unfortunately they lump all those over 60 age into one group; I was 4th, so no metal for me this year. But I suspect I was the oldest one there. Maybe if I ran faster... I came home, ate, weed whipped the yard, showered and then took a two hour nap!

That evening we had stake conference at the stake center. I baked chocolate chip cookies to give to my traditional families and we took three members from our ward to enjoy the evening session. As always great messages from the mission and temple presidents. The best part was a panel with recent converts and fellowshipping couples talking about why they were interested in attending church, join, and continue to do stay active. Great missionary moments were shared. It was a late night.

Today we attended the Sunday session of stake conference that was broadcast into our local building. Again we had talks on conversion, ministering and loving the way the Savior loves.

Some photos:
First of the interior of the house we hope to sell:

We had one hen sitting on eight fertilized eggs and they all hatched Wednesday.

Don't know where this guy came from, but he showed up Thursday morning in the chicken coop:

Charlotte with Sandy.

Good times in Arkansas!

Another busy week for the Foxes, at least from my perspective. It was a bit of a challenge for me to juggle working at the rent house, keeping the home front fires going and getting Sandy to her various appointments. With her back troubling her, she opted not to drive this week.

Monday the van had a date with the oil change doctor. 6.4 quarts of oil! It is more convenient and easier to let the mechanic change the oil since it now requires special tools (and a lift helps too). Then off to the rent house to install the floor in the laundry room.  Difficult to work around the water heater when you don't drain and move it. Then home to get Sandy to her chiropractor appointment in the afternoon.

Tuesday I was able to spend most of the day at the rent house.  Painted and installed quarter round in the kitchen and laundry room. Was also able to paint the floor in two of the bedrooms. I tried to match the color of paint with the current one since Lowe's no longer has that color.  I thought "Death by Chocolate' was a good match! And it was. I was able to get Sandy to the Relief Society activity that night. They were doing an Escape Room, and since the priesthood may have a similar activity, Sandy can't tell me about it.

Wednesday was interesting; between an 1145 doctor's followup appointment and a 3 pm chiropractor appointment, I was running back and forth from working at the house then back to pickup Sandy. I did get the rest of the floor painted and the porch painted.  We had invited the sister missionaries to dinner and I was able to get dinner prepared on time.  One of the sisters wanted a fudge making experience, so following an enchilada dinner we made fudge. While I sent a good portion home with them, I am still enjoying it.

Thursday I started mowing our yard while still cool; then took Sandy to her weekly appointment with Clifford; then to a disabled church member to mow his yard and then back to our house to complete mowing it before picking up Sandy.

Friday I left the house at 430 am to get to the church for our monthly trip to the temple.  Actually had 14  people who wanted to attend,and needed two vehicles. We managed to get some amazing work completed while there.  Part way through, a thunderstorm blew through with a lot of thunder, which was audible in the temple. We left in the rain and only proceeded 20 miles before we ran into some serious traffic. We never did see the original accident that tied traffic up, we just knew it took us three hours to go what normally takes 90 minutes. Did not get home until 10 pm.

Saturday was up to help a couple unload a U-Haul truck into their newly purchased home. Fortunately there were plenty of hands and we were done by 9 am. So I came home took a short break and was back at the rent house to complete the last minute items now that the floor was dry. Besides, we have two realtors coming on Monday morning to offer their opinions on pricing and such.

Monday was the first time in a month that I went running. There is a 5 K the last Saturday of the month that I have run several times in the past and am hopeful I will be able to do so again this year. I was able to run again Wednesday morning and then on Thursday and Saturday evenings.  Nothing impressive, but at least I can still run. Not sure about next Saturday; will have to see how next week goes.

Today we had great talks (again) in sacrament meeting. The stake young women's camp director didn't really talk about girl's camp; rather she shared some experiences about her first son who exhibited a strong will at an early age. She was prompted to spend one on one time with him reading from the Book of Mormon. Changed his perspective, and hers as well, and the challenges diminished considerable. The next three were young women who addressed girl's camp.

Local rainfall:  over three inches in the last 36 hours for a monthly total of 7.8. We have had 39 inches so far this year. Just in case anyone was interested!

This next week promises to continue to be exciting. Realtors on Monday, going to Jonathan's Thursday so we can view "The Other Side of Heaven" Part II at a Springfield theater on Friday and then Stake Conference next weekend.

A fun week!

 Happy Fathers Day!  I would like to pay special tribute to my sons and sons-in-law for assuming their sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live.

It was a beautiful week with lovely weather the entire time.  Following the adage that it is easier to maintain a weed free garden than to retake it, I spent time each morning removing all those pesky unwanted volunteers.  We have enjoyed snap peas and fresh lettuce so far.

I spent time at the rent house each day this week.  Finally got the interior painted; pressure washed the exterior; hired a friend to paint all the exterior trim and the front; and on Friday I installed a floating floor in the kitchen. I am hopeful that work on this house will be completed by week's end.

We had a week of loud laughter and the sound of little feet up and down the stairs.  Miranda and her four arrived Tuesday afternoon (they brought pizza for dinner).  And then Deborah with five of hers (Sarah was at girl's camp) arrived Wednesday.  Miranda prepared yummy lumpia for dinner Wednesday.  Thursday evening I had invited the sister missionaries for dinner, so we had hamburgers and hot dogs.

Some of the grand children had expressed an interest in earning money; the challenge was to find things for young ones to perform successfully. The chicken coop had gone several weeks without being mowed; it was interesting to watch Ethan trying to push the mower in the tall grass.  He had the desire, but it was almost more than he could do. So I helped him some. But they were very helpful in getting several chores done, and even more important, inspired me to work off a couple of items on my to do list as well.  It was a win win situation. And it was great to see how well the cousins worked together in accomplishing a common goal.

The highlight was on Friday afternoon.  A dead tree had fallen; with the prospect of a bonfire, I had plenty of help cleaning up the debris and putting it on the burn pile. Then after dinner, the coals were ready for roasting of smores and the day ended on a most yummy and happy moment.

Since both families were leaving Saturday, the girls planned a Father's Day meal for Friday; Deborah  fixed Bourbon Street Chicken and Miranda baked a rhubarb pie. Miranda made some peppermint patties and peanut clusters (some of which have been consumed during the typing of this blog).

And then by 1 pm Saturday, it was suddenly very very quiet. We do enjoy and appreciate family visits. Sandy did learn a painful lesson this week:  do not pick up 25 pound grand children:  she hurt her back and has been to the chiropractor twice already. Friday she connected with her primary care physician (actually it was a nurse practitioner) who prescribed a steroid, non steroid, and something else.  Unfortunately, these caused some nausea with upset stomach. A check with the family pharmacist (thank you Robert) confirmed that she needed to cease taking the steroid if she wanted to overcome the nausea. She was better today, but did not trust her stomach to attend church (that was a good decision). It's tough for her to keep adding problems to her life-- abdominal issues, then back pain, then nausea and not being able to keep anything down.... Despite her set backs, Sandy continues to amaze me with her positive attitude and perseverance.

Sad news of the week: my computer screen died and a new one was ordered but won't arrive until Monday. (It was interesting how the grand kids clammored to play on the computer, but once it was dead, there were no complaints and they happily played board games or played outside.) One of our chickens died and worst of all, our long haired calico cat, Athena, died.  Not sure what was the cause of her death, but it was clear she had been dead for a couple of days when I finally found her.

We hope next week will bring better news. On the plus side, we had excellent speakers in Sacrament meeting with one young man leaving on his mission early July.  It has been impressive to see him mature. We had a good Sunday school lesson on the Atonement of the Savior. It helped remind me of the importance of taking the sacrament to always remember the great and eternal sacrifice of the Savior.