January 23rd through January 29th

January 23^rd through January 29^th:

On Thursday I drove Chris to North Star Elementary School where she substituted a third grade class, and then I went to John’s house and hung sheet rock.  

New Sheet Rock.



New Sheet Rock.

Mom only had a ½ day class, so I picked her up and we then had lunch together before I had to go to work.  During work, I got a call that the big white envelope from church headquarters had arrived, so Chris called all the kids and it was decided that everyone would meet at Charlotte’s house at 7:00pm for the opening of our mission call.  Even though we had asked to go to Oaxaca and serve in the temple there, we were still a little nervous because our Bishop had called me in a few weeks ago and said that we should not be surprised if we didn’t get a call to where we had hoped, because of my medical condition. ( I do take a blood thinner because I am Factor 5 (prone to blood clots).  Our stake president had received a call from the missionary department and he had called our bishop to pass along the heads up to us.  I sat on this for a day and then called President Crayk to get his take on the whole thing.  His advice was to immediately call mission medical and talk to someone.  So I did and I explained that I had regulated my blood thinner in China and in Bolivia and was quite comfortable doing it and I didn’t understand why that was a problem now.  The nurse said she would talk to the doctor and get back to me.  She called back and said that if I would get my blood checked right before we leave and right after we get there, then the doctor would approve our going to Oaxaca.   He was concerned that they might be using different reagents to test the blood and that it would give a different reading.  So if the blood tests were the same, I would know it was ok and if they were off, I would know how to adjust for the difference.  So we were very excited and relieved to get our call to Oaxaca.  We had a great time with all our kids here and Ginny, Xela, and Willa skyped in and Sam on the telephone.  We are a little disappointed that we aren’t going till June 16^th but that is another story.  Friday, First thing we called President Atkinson, the temple president in Oaxaca and I told him we had our call and he asked where.  When I told him to his temple he was excited.  He had not received any notice yet.  When I explained we would not be coming until the middle of June, he said, “I need you in May”.  It turns out that one of the missionary couples is leaving in April and he needs us to fill in for them.  He explained that we would be living in the apartment that the couple leaving is in and that it is right next door to their apartment.  I think he is going to try and get us down there sooner than mid June, because we got an email on Tuesday that asked us when the soonest is that we could come down.  It really depends on our visas.  We did get the packet with our visa applications on Tuesday and I mailed them back to the travel department on Wednesday.  I finished hanging the sheet rock and got a coat of mud on the joints and then went to work. 

New mud on joints.

 Saturday, I went to the temple early and did initiatory and used a Spanish card to review the words in Spanish.  Then I went to work at Home Depot.  John picked me up at 3:00pm and I went to his house to install a can light in the ceiling.  Mom went to Orem to go to lunch with a cousin she had not seen in years and years.  She also got to spend some time with Kirstin and Emme and Rigby.  When she got back she felt sick, so I took her to Charlotte’s and I went back to John’s to tend for the evening.  I finished up the light and got the ceiling patched and a coat of mud on. 



New Can Light.

Sunday I had to work from 7:00am till 1:00pm and I missed church.  It is the first time that I have had to work and miss the sacrament.  Chris still felt sick so she only went and taught our class.  I didn’t feel all that great either and ended up in taking a nap for 4 hours till dinner was ready.  After dinner we watched Downton Abby.  Monday I got up early and went and leveled the bathroom floor on both sides of the threshold for the shower and then I went to work.  

Floor leveled outside of shower.

Tuesday I got another coat of mud on the joints and went to lunch with my brother Van.  He and his wife have just returned from a 3 week trip to the Antarctica and South America.  He took a polar plunge in the ocean while on the cruise.  Mom substituted kindergarten.  She says they got their monies worth and she is tired after a day with 25 , 5 year olds.  Wednesday, the plumber came and installed the shower pan and replaced the shower valve.  I poured the shower bed on top of the rubber pan.  

New shower pan and prep for tile.

When that is dry I will be able to install the hardiboard and start the tile.  Mom had another day with kindergartners.  I picked her up and we hurried to the temple for a session.  We saw the new, new film.  It is the second new one introduced a few weeks ago.  We then did some home teaching and finally dinner at Chuck-a-Rama.  We were able to watch American Idol and see my nephew’s daughter, Tessa Norman get a ticket to Hollywood.  We can’t wait to go to Oaxaca and we want to thank everyone who has sent us emails of congratulations.  We feel so blessed.

 

 

Grandma playing with Miles and Luke.