Families Are Forever

The events from the past week have allowed me to refocus and remember the importance of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the ordinance of temple marriage. Wednesday morning I was informed of the tragic passing of 16 year old in my parents ward. I didn't know him. The only memory I have is of him sitting in front of me in Sacrament meeting the last time I was home and teasing his little brother as my brothers use to do (and still do). The surprising part is that I have been effected by this event, because of the impact that it has had on my family, especially my father, who was his Bishop and my brother Tanner who was a wonderful example of friendship and kindness.
I have seen with my ears the love and service that has been rendered in behalf of the Green family over the past few days. I have wondered if the Reedy Creek ward that I attend has as much love and concern as the Nampa 22nd ward has for each other. My dad has related so many amazing things to me over the past few days. One thing that keeps going through my mind is that Brother Green never knew how much they were loved. Does someone have to die for us to show love? I sure hope that we aren't waiting for a convenient time to let people around us know that we love them. The fact that only 15% of the sisters in my ward had an in home visit last month, makes me wonder are we too busy to let the sister's in our ward know that we care about them; enough to take 30 minutes out of 30 days to make them our priority? I have had several wonderful contacts with my visiting teacher in the past few weeks, which I appreciate. I have wondered if there was a tragedy in the Reedy Creek ward, would the sister's feel comfortable being comforted by their visiting teacher when they may have only been visited once in the past six months? I can't imagine they would. I am not saying I am the best visiting teacher, but I try to at least stop by to visit the inactive sister on my list of two sisters (the other is not to be found at the moment, but we will keep trying). She may not come to church, but hopefully the quotes that I leave inside her goody bag and the conversations that we have will someday give her the desire to come back to church. Most of all, I hope she knows that I am not just someone assigned to check up on her once a month, but that I am her friend, regardless of her activity in the church.
Another thing that I keep thinking of is dad talking about when he went to the funeral home to help dress the body. He said, "It is just a body. The spirit is not there, it is gone." I have pondered on this and the truth behind it and upon the Resurrection, that one day the body and the spirit will reunite. In the medical aspect, it really is something to ponder upon, but in the spiritual aspect it confirms to me that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true.
Dad has reinforced to me, the youth in his ward and those who attended the funeral's (yes, one in Idaho and one in Utah where he grew up), that the Atonement is not only for this life, but that it takes effect after we die, when all of our illnesses, chemical imbalances; including depression are withdrawn from us and we are made whole, then and only then, will we be judged. I especially felt the spirit when dad stated that he believed that this son of God was walking with the Savior. What great comfort it is in knowing that our Savior Jesus Christ has felt our deepest sorrows, our broken hearts, and as Elder Holland said just a few weeks ago, that feeling of being alone.
The most important thing that I have been reminded of is that because of temple marriage and the sealing covenant, we are promised that families are forever. What a marvelous gift this is and what great comfort we receive from this most precious gifts. We had an amazing lesson in Relief Society on Eternal Marriage; my testimony was strengthened and the Spirit was felt.
Through out the events of this week, missionary opportunities have come forth. Friday night I was talking to one of the PA's that I work with about this and basically I testified that there is life after death and that we will be able to live with our families forever. Last night I had a pretty neat experience with one of the doctors, when I was telling him about this, he said, "you are a spiritual person and you come from a spiritual family don't you?" There was something in his voice that was confirming and reverant, which I have never seen in him, but was a short, missionary opportunity as I confirmed his statement/question. I was humbled to know that he has observed these attributes in me.
I must not end this blog without mentioning the still birth of my childhood friend Lena Steffler. She had her first daughter on Sunday. Her picture was in the obituaries the same day as Parnells. What a beautiful baby and what sadness they must feel, but what joyous fulfillment we have in the gospel of Jesus Christ, that Families Are Forever.

Planning for Chicago

Yes, I am a planner. I am obsessed with planning my life. For the past several months I have been planning our girls trip to Chicago. I have been looking at several websites, books, and asking others who have been to Chicago what to see and where to eat. I am getting so excited for our trip. We will leave May 1 and return May 9. We are also going to Holland, Michigan to the Tulip Festival. I love tulips and can't wait for the pictures that we will capture. So, as I was doing further research this morning and listening to the wind, which I hope isn't going to follow us to Chicago, I was wondering if any of my readers have any advice from their travels to Chicago?

Easter Celebrations

So this past weekend was Easter. I am sure there were plenty of Easter Celebrations, with plenty of children hoarding little plastic eggs with prizes and candy inside. In fact, my little friend Madeline McConkie got the egg with the golden ticket, which was actually a $20 gift certificate to Toys R US. That is a kids dream. Anyway, I worked the night shift the past three days. We were saturated with people all weekend. In fact it was so bad on Saturday night that the MD who was suppose to get off at 1:00am didn't end up leaving until 4:00am and the PA who was suppose to leave at 2:00am didn't leave until 5:00am. What were these people in the ED for you ask, lets see, I had a lady who had a history of a sore throat and waited over 5 hours for me to tell her that she didn't have strep throat. I gave her a script for magic mouthwash, which I am sure didn't do much of anything. I also had a 13 year old with Chicken Pox; only the 4th case I have seen in my years of practice. You just don't see it these days because of the Chicken Pox vaccine, so when I see it, I am a little surprised. I did have a few real emergencies, one that actually gave me my first adrenaline rush since working in the ED. Seriously. It was a 7 year old who was having an allergic/asthma attack and wasn't moving hardly any air at all and gasping for air as I had him try to take a deep breath. I admit, he gave me quite a little scare, but after four breathing treatments he was much better. He did get admitted for observation though. I must say, he was quite the little trooper.
I got an Easter package from mom on Thursday. It is always a treat to get a surprise package in the mail, especially a box. It consisted of those Reese's PB Eggs, sweat tart jelly beans, these Winco ( you can only get them at the hometown Winco store) sour jelly beans that I love, and some powdered strawberry and raspberry glaze that you can't find in our grocery stores. I was pretty stoked. I also got a card from Grandma Betty, which is always a treat.
The best treat was an invitation to have Easter dinner with my dear friends the McConkies. Talk about the sweetest person ever; that Shelley McConkie is so wonderfully sweet. She made a homemade dinner of funeral potatoes, bone in ham, her mother's homemade rolls, a to die for Cesar salad, and to top it off, homemade apple pie. She literally peeled the apples just before we had dinner. I had planned to go home after church and have a bowel of cereal or a wheat English muffin with PB and honey, which I had actually had for breakfast. The dinner was amazingly delicious and the company was just as wonderful. Another sister Rebecca Poder and her one year old daughter Cornelius also joined us for dinner. Rebecca is from England. I think she is just darling and could listen to her talk all day.
And I can't leave Matthew McConkie out of this little posting, bless his heart, he is in the running along with many other's to find me a husband. So I may give in and attend his institute class this week, as he believes there are several couples in his class that are engaged or at least "together", which all stem from going to institute. I informed him that I attended institute for over 10 years, in fact I have a doctorate degree from attending institute so much, of course I haven't earned a MRS. degree yet. So I hope that Matthews magic works on me Tuesday night! Wouldn't that just be something?
Since I stayed up 26 hours yesterday, I was exhausted and had a very difficult time prying myself from the bed this A.M. In fact it is noon and I am still not ready for the day. I just can't seem to get myself going. I could probably sleep all day and should, but I can't stand to waste my day off. So, I will shortly be on my way to finish my Easter festivities, by making my way to my local Target for my 50% off Starburst Jelly Beans. Although last year I missed out on them because I was out of town, so hopefully this is my year.

A Prescription For a New Attitude!

So the other day I was working at the Ghetto hospital. I actually really enjoy working there, but every once in a while I get some people that are a real hoot. So I went into room 4 and the first thing the patients says to me is that my nurse really has an attitude problem. She then proceeds to ask me why she was on the minor side and not on the major side. She progresses to tell me that I don't know anything and I tell her that I went to school for eight years and have been practicing for nearly five years. I am thinking to myself, you better believe I know a little something. Basically this lady wanted something for pain, but she said that she was allergic to all the pain medicines, so I am asking her what do you want, I will give you want you want if you can tell me what you want. It was a vicious circle. She then starts saying all sorts of stuff and I tell her, I don't have to take your verbal abuse and I walk out of the room. She gets dressed and walks out but before walking out the door she tells me that I need to write myself a prescription for a new attitude. Talk about rude. I think that she must have been having a bad day. Earlier that day I had a lady with a ring worm. I have seen it hundreds of times. It is treated with over the counter antifungal cream. She did not believe me and again told me that I didn't know what I was talking about. Sometimes I want to tell these people that if they know more than me, then why do they come to the ER.

The best though was I had a guy with tooth pain for three weeks. He had taken his friends Percocet and had been to another ER a week before. I told him several times that I wasn't a dentist, that I didn't pull teeth or fill cavities, and that he was just going to have to see a dentist. There was nothing else I could do for him. He kept telling me that he didn't have a job, didn't have insurance, and didn't have money to pay a dentist. So what did he want me to do? It just boggles my mind when people don't understand that I am not a dentist and that I don't have a magic wand to make them all better. So I gave him a prescription for Lortab, which was nice of me, and then him and his friend, who hadn't been in the room previously come back in and ask me if he can get a pain pill now. I said sure, wrote an order for it, which my nurse has to get into the pixes to get it out. So I am just sitting there waiting for my nurse to get it and the friend starts telling me how I didn't do anything for his friend that is in a lot of pain. Hello, I just wrote him something for pain, which I tried to tell him. He then sticks his hand out and tells me not to talk to him that I have had an attitude since he came in. I mean really, if people don't get what they want, I have an attitude, but they don't. So I guess, it is all my fault that I can't wave a magic wand and make people better. I have broad enough shoulder's, I will take the blame for not having a perfect health care system. Although most of the problems come from people not taking care of themselves and following the word of wisdom. It is funny that people can afford their cigarettes but can't afford a $4 prescription. Hopefully I can save the world today. If not, I will try again tomorrow. PS. Please brush and floss so that you don't have rotten teeth and have to go to the ER!

Another Inspiring General Conferance

I very much enjoyed watching conference this weekend. I love how Heavenly Father always makes it possible for me to have important weekends off like this one. I learned so much and was reminded of how much Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ loves us. I am so very blessed to have been born into a family where the gospel was already a part of their lives. I loved how so many of the talks focused on temple attendance and the blessings of attending the temple "You are never lost when you can see the temple.", finding joy in change, finding joy in the Atonement, and how challenges will come, but if we have hope and faith, we shouldn't fear. My favorite talk was by Kevin W. Pearson on Faith. He said that to have faith is to have confidence in something or someone. He quoted Bruce R. McConkie "Faith is always given when righteousness is present." He also said that if you allow fear and doubt to control you, you do not have faith.
I also enjoyed the talk given by the new General Authority Neil L. Anderson he said, "It is not by chance that we are who we are."
Elder Bednar said something that really made me think, he said, "There is a difference between those who go to worship in the temple and those who simply go to the temple."
Jose Teixeira quoted President Monson when he said, "Decisions determine our Destiny."
And President Monson said, "The future is as bright as your faith." "Be Strong, Be Clean. Go to the temple often, it is were we can find peace.
I agree with President Monson that the future is bright and I feel there are going to be some great things happening in my life in the near future. My faith has been strengthened and my goal is to let go of my fear, because faith and fear can not coexist. So my friends, it is onward and upward!

A Short Visit At Home

I know, I am a slacker. I am going to try to do better this month and keep up. So because I am a slacker, I have to write about my trip home. A few weeks ago mom and I drove to Raleigh after I worked all day. We stayed at the Marriott for a few hours. I mean a few hours because I worked until 10 uptown and then came home and packed. We didn't get on the road until after 11pm and we got there around 2am. I really don't think that I even slept. Our flight left at 7:15am. I had gotten us a room on price line for $50 and they let me leave my car there for free, so it was better than paying for parking at the airport. We had a rather enjoyable flight because the plane had TV. I actually was able to watch the Today show live. It was totally awesome and made the trip not seem so long. We landed in SLC around 945am, but sat on the tarmac for at least 30 min. Dad picked us up and we met the girls to have pedicures. Yes, first things first! It was enjoyable as always. We then went to Gardner Village for a quick shopping trip. Then we headed home for a quick snoozer before heading to Maddox for dinner to celebrate mom's birthday. It was a very enjoyable day, but boy was I ready to hit the sack by 10, no staying up and playing cards for me. The reason we had all met in SLC was because for everyone to get there taxes done. Well, just before going in, Tenielle called to make sure because they hadn't given us a reminder call, sure enough, somehow we had gotten erased off of the schedule. They felt bad, but I didn't, because I think it is boring and Tenielle dose mine anyway.
Saturday morning I was up early of course. We had french toast my favorite, celebrated mom's birthday(which I think we did for at least 4 or 5 days) with cake, and then headed home to Nampa. Saturday night Tanner and I went to get take out from Nampa's own Hong Kong. Sunday we had the kids over after church for dinner. Monday Tristen, Jeanne, Becky, Danielle, mom and I went to lunch to celebrate mom's birthday again. We then went to the Deseret Industries, my favorite. I got 3 pairs of shoes and 4 books for $16! I went home and Kadyn took a nap in Auntie Terah's arms. They are so darling when they are asleep.
That night Troy and Becky came over to have banana splits. Yes, that is all we do when I go home is eat. It is all about food, because I am a social eater and I like to eat with other people. Gavin was so cute because he wanted every one's strawberries.

Tuesday Mom and I went to Amanda's and got our hair done. I took a few inches off of my hair. It was just getting too long and I really needed a change. Tanner, Mom, Deseri, Alisha, Tristen and I met for Lunch at our favorite Pizza Parlor; Idaho Pizza. They have the best salad bar around. Then Alisha and I went with her kids to see Marley and Me. I had read the book and really enjoyed both even though I am not a dog person. Dad picked me up at Artic Circle where we had to get our traditional Ice Cream cone.
Wednesday Troy, Becky, Mom, Dad and I went to the 1030 session at the Temple. It was so nice. It was shift change, so there were many people dressed in White. They were all lining the hall as we went into the room. Brother Francis was one of them. As I went in I thought, I wonder if this is what Heaven is like? As I got to the veil, I recognized the voice on the other side was Grandpa Swensen. It was a very wonderful experience for both of us. As I sat in the Celestial Room I thought, yes, this is what Heaven is like. As I was coming out, I saw Sister Ferguson. I love that woman. She means so much to me and it was so wonderful to chat with her for a while.
That night I made the amazing Italian Delight, passed from my cousin Callie to Emilie and to me. The family loved it, even my dad who really isn't a pasta fan.
We sat around and watched the babies entertain us and I took them outside in the rain, as they learned that night how to open the deadbolt on the door and wanted to go outside all night.
Thursday I flew home. It was a very fun time and always way to short, but well worth the memories.