March 25th through March 31st

March 25^th through March 31^st:  I continue to improve from my surgery and feel a little bit better each day, but I have been surprised at how slow my recovery has been.  Tuesday I went to my doctor’s appointment and he confirmed that it is normal to still be in pain and there is a reason that the recovery time is six weeks.  Wednesday mom had some basil cell carcinoma removed and then we went to lunch with Kate, Charlotte, Alex, Tilda, and Mary Jane, Alex’s mother.  She has been here visiting for a week from Denver.  

Tilda was one of our lunch dates.

Thursday morning I had a root canal and got a temporary crown. We sometimes feel like our bodies are falling apart.  We then drove to Mount Pleasant to visit our good friends Mike and Merlene Ellington.  We spent a year in China together teaching English with the BYU China Teachers Program and they served for 6 months as temple missionaries with us in Guatemala.  They are wonderful hosts and we loved eating Chinese hotpot and reminiscing about our shared experiences.    

Mike and Merlene Ellington.

Friday we drove by our old house in Mt. Pleasant for one last nostalgic look and then headed to James’ new auto dealership in Lindon.  If you need a car, please give him a call.  

James at his new dealership. 

We then drove to his house and took his oldest son, Rigby, to buy scriptures and a scripture bag.  He will be turning 8 in a couple of weeks.  Mom did a Family Home Evening about baptism and then we drove home.  

Rigby's baptism invitation.

Saturday I was able to do my shift at the temple, but by the end I was pretty sore and had some pain.  After my shift, Alex and his son, Luke, came over and I helped them get Luke's pinewood derby car cut out.  He wants it to be a bag of potato chips.  

Luke and his car.

We went back to the temple in the evening and did a sealing session with John and Jill, Alex and Charlotte, Bryce and Kate, and Paul and Mary Jane, Alex’s mom and step-father.  It was nice to be together in the temple.  We were sad that Sam and Ginny live so far away and that James and Kirstin had some last minute problems and could not be with us.  

In front of the Bountiful temple.

Sunday I taught the lesson for the 5^th Sunday combined class.  We introduced the new Temple and Family History Plan and talked about the purposes and blessing of this important work.  I got a lot of compliments that I did a good job.  Our stake president was visiting and he also was very gracious in his comments.  We cooked a pork roast dinner for John and Jill’s family.  During my shift on Saturday the coordinator asked how I was doing and I said; “Last week I was about 50% and this week I think I am about 80%.”  He replied; “That is better than most of us ever feel.”  I am one of the youngest sealers and it made me realize I should be grateful for good doctors and that even though I am not healing as fast as I would like, I am healing and I will soon be feeling 100%.