The August That Came & Went... Wow!

I enjoyed every moment with my little girls until they made the move with their parents to Travis Air Force Base near Sacramento California. We are now relegated to Skype, iChat, and phone calls. Not quite the same as being here. But, feeling blessed that technology keeps us close. Greatful!

Sophee & Kamber

As a member of the Relief Society Presidency, it was my turn to teach the first Sunday lesson. I chose to review the talk by President Uchtdorf called Forget Me Not. The talk can be found here. I really enjoyed the participation from the sisters. I always learn so much. Inspiring!

I bid farewell to Doug and Neal as they flew to Pittsburgh and made the drive back to St. George where I was able to welcome them back in a record breaking 3 day journey.  They went to collect the rest of the stuff that Neal and Makensy had to leave in a storage unit. Safely!

Later that week, Makensy's Grandma and Grandpa Lee spent the weekend with us as they spent time with their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. So blessed to be part of a great family... through marriage. We had fun at Makensy's sister's family's special event. A baby blessing and a baptism all in one day! Beautiful!

I went with my staff to Provo for a conference. It was a great experience. I enjoy the people I work with and it was great to get them together. We went to Sundance and  saw a live production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I own the movie and it was fun to see the theater version in the perfect pine tree lined outdoor theater. Favorite!

I met a new doctor here in St. George. Dr. Hinkle is a medical doctor who practices alternative medicine. I have been so frustrated that I have been taking thyroid medication for 2.5 years and still have crazy low thyroid symptoms. I was impressed to find a doctor that actually listened to me. After $900 in blood tests later I learned the following: my vitamine D was super low, my cholesterol was high (no surprise... thanks mom), both my estrogen and progesterone were low, plus I need extra vitamin C. Finally, my numbers on my thyroid were normal... of course... so why do I still have low thyroid symptoms... hello Hashimoto's Disease. A note on Hashimoto's it's an autoimmune disease Hashimoto's disease does not have unique signs and symptoms. The disease typically progresses slowly over a number of years and causes chronic thyroid damage, leading to a drop in thyroid hormone levels in your blood. The signs and symptoms are mainly those of an under-active thyroid gland (hypothyroidism). The cure... hmmmm... nothing really going in the regular medical world... however, the holistic treatment and possible cure is an amino acid injection from Europe monthly. This was a little depressing. After a budget review, Doug and I decided to go for it. I'm starting the end of September. Spendy!

My dear daughter-in-law Shayna went to the temple for the first time. An adventure to the Manhattan Temple. Although I was not able to attend in person... my heart was with her. Shayna is a lovely example of a faithful woman. I know that Ian knows that he has been given a gift. So has our family. Looking forward to Shayna and Ian's sealing. Eternity!

We had our first fundraiser for work. It was to support a larger project to purchase a sound system for a performing group. The Don't Laugh At Me Players are a group of people with disabilities who educate the community about disability etiquette and raise awareness. The Players held a spaghetti dinner and dessert auction. They raised a total of $1,962. Success!

I've also been doing some entertaining. Friends and family over for dinner. I love it! We also have an activity at church called Dinner Groups. People sign up to participate in a dinner group once a month. Some people volunteer to host. When they get their list of random guests, they make assignments to the guests to round out the meal. It's a fun way to get to know our neighbors and share recipes. Delish!

The other thing that Doug and I have been doing is canning. We have a lovely fig tree in our back yard. We made 20 half pints of jam. We also bought pears for $0.60 per pound and canned 10 quarts. Domesticity!

 Now... on to September... August flew by. Farewell!