Another amazing week

May 28, 2017

Dearest Family, 

     Happy 74th Birthday to Bob on Tuesday,May 30.  Happy Birthday to Bo on Friday, June 2!  Have a great day!!!!  It was Kaitlyn's HS Graduation on  Tuesday evening!  Congrats!!!! Kaitlyn!

     Another amazing week with many special opportunities for training.  Started out the week Skype training a Ward Temple & Family History Consultant. She's is so excited.  We sent her screen clips then she called on Saturday evening. They were not opening correctly, so we helped her with that.  She wanted to use them to.  Abt 80, young at heart, & has amazing computer skills! 

  

     We have helped a new High councilor over T&FH, & were able to be in the home of a High Priest Group leader. Miracles happened & he was able to find a new family to add to Family Search!  I was able to help his wife recover her acct info & we found a sealing of a child to her parents, how special that is, Can't leave out any of those special little ones.

     On Thursday evening, we had the opportunity to do training here in Lovell with the TFH Consultants, it is always great to work at home.  It is fun to train them to climb around in someones tree, so they can have a successful experience helping people to find a family member to provide ordinances for!

     We were able to visit with Wendy, who is involved in "mobile app awareness: in SLC. That was a fun visit & we will be doing more with others in this department!      

     Feel very blessed also this week - there were several days that I had a very swollen knee & of course the first thing that comes to mind is blood clots, but it was only old "arthur-itis" rearing his ugly head!  Turn 70 & one starts falling apart!  Went to the Doctor & he gave me some exercises which strength the muscles above the knee & help! A special Priesthood blessing was the best part!

     Dad kept busy outside each day with all the weeds. He uses the mower and weed eater to keep areas open for daily use and will let the sheep do their thing once we get them. He did some irrigating this week too. Our water lilies in both ponds will be blooming this week, also our day lilies. One of the California quail pairs has some eggs in her nest! Dad also put a couple eggs under a pigeon to set on. Our plum trees got frosted a couple weeks ago so all the little plums have dropped off. We'll have to see what the apple tree fruit does?  He would like to let the pigeons out but still goshawks are still around to eat them. We hope it is soon time for them to head to the mountains!

     Today we were able to setup who we will be staying with over the next two months in the Bozeman area on weekends. So many generous saints out there willing to serve us!  It's been a very blessed week!

     Below you will find a link to an interview done in Idaho with he & his wife.  There are some very special thoughts in it!   Enjoy!  

     Here is also the latest update from Vicki on Cozy:   Cosettes home again:) on her 2 months old -from her due date- anniversary. Kirena will keep close track of cozy's head for any swelling. We sure hope the ablation is successful!!

    Love you all Mom & Dad    

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865680798/East-Idaho-News-interview-with-Elder-and-Sister-Bednar-provides-a-unique-view-into-the-life-and-call.html

Happy Wedding Day! Cheyenne & Tchae!

Dearest Family,

     Happy Wedding Day!  Cheyenne & Tchae!   It was wonderful to be in the temple with them on Saturday, May 2Oth  What special day for them & all of use who were able to be there with them!

     The Fikes arrived on Thursday afternoon!  There had been lots of snow in the southern part of Wyoming so they left Laramie earlier than they had planned. We enjoyed having them here for a little extra time. Thursday evening some of the Grants came over & Rob was also here!   Had fun just sitting around viisiting!  Friday, we all helped the Fikes, they were hosting a Taco Dinner over in Burlington, prior to the reception.   It was for those arriving from out of town, & those who had been decorating, etc.  Anyway we were busy here cutting, chopping, frying, etc to get the dinner ready so they could leave by 4:00 p.m. The reception was so nice, with lots of people attending both from Powell & Burlington.

     One day took a drive out to the lake - water is very low - in preparation for a huge run off as the weather continues to warm.. Most of the water sheds have over 200% normal snow this year!

      Darece & I went to Billings on Tuesday - had a nice time working in the laundry - kept busy hemming slips & sewing labels on them. Did a little shopping before & after - had a wonderful time!  Dad attended the funeral for Jerry Wellman that morning.  

     On Wednesday I worked with two ladies, & Dad had company!  Rosie & Kenny are doing a video about Lovell so she came out to interview him. Darece, McKenzea & the three little girls were also here, swinging & just having fun!  Not fun for me because I missed it!

     Today was so nice, traveled to the Big Timber Montana Branch, 2 1/2 hour drive each way.  We did classes during SS time & last hour. Several shared experiences which they had had doing the ordinances for family members!

     

Thursday  update from Vicki:

Updates o)  not much Cozy news.  she is still hospitalized at least thru Monday. Neurology will look at some things Monday & decide the next step.  Cozy in general seems to be doing ok.  the infection should be almost gone. She is having some heart issues that are not explained yet.  She has been moved to a surgery unit just because it has the heart monitor that she needs.  Her head is beginning to swell so that will need to be addressed in the next few weeks- hopefully they won't let it get too bad.

Sunday update & a precious video:Cozy was cute yesterday:) her hair is pretty gunky because of the monitors, and they can't wash her hair yet with the incisions still so new- she is pretty sticky:)

Love to all of you Mom & Dad

Well, it has been a busy couple of weeks

Dearest Family,

     Well, it has been a busy couple of weeks - We will wish Happy Belated 27th Anniversary to Rob & Michelle on May 12th.   Then this Wednesday, May 17, is Rob's Birthday,  Have a great day,son!   Then on May 20, Symphony celebrates her 15th birthday!   Happy Birthday!  What a way to celebrate!  Tchae & Cheyenne will be married that day, Saturday, May 20th in the Billings Montana Temple!  We are so excited for them!

     The past two weeks have been full ones, Skype trainings, visits,. trips to Cody, just to name a few. May 4th was our first, lunch with the 7 Sr Missionary couples who will be serving in the Historic Cody Murals for the summer. Then Mon - Thurs we were there also!  Each morning 9-10 a.m. we gave a lesson, then assignments to work on during the day.  We then had one on one time with each couple. 10-12 & 1:30-3:30.  It was an amazing week, the youngest couple is 58 & 61, and the rest range in age 73 to 84.  There were miracles each day as hearts were turned as many found their first name of a family member to do sacred ordinances for in the temple - families being gathered together!  There were other tears of joy shed as discoveries were made as to how modern technology could be used inspite of physical limitations. One brother only sees 3-4 letters at a time.  His wife's smartphone turned out to be his best tool! He was so excited, that night he went to Verizon & got him one!  Dad spent several more hours the last day helping he & his wife find success!

     The weather has been beautiful - sunny days - a few rainy ones also!  Dad has the yard looking beautiful, green & nicely manicured. The lilacs are blooming, there is aspargus to pick.  Just here in our yard there is enough for us to have creamed aspargus on toast - sure tastes yummy!

     It has been a great Mother's Day!   I so appreciate all the wonderful Mothers in our family!  Appreciate each one of you!   First there is Michelle, Vicki, Darece, Joy & Amber. Then there are all our married Granddaughters & Granddaughters-in-laws!  And those unmarried, mothers in embryo: Mica, Whitney, Kaitlyn, Symphony, Kenya, Daeja, Leanne & Camille!  Love you all, you are the greatest!

     We had a special evening with Ken & Darece, their family, Bob Derocher, Susan, Jason & Trista Croft.   Jason was the chef for a yummy dinner!  So.o.o very delic.....

Here's the latest on Cozy, many ups & downs!   The ups!!!!   She weighs over 11 lbs.

from Kirena,  May 13th..

I'm so sorry for the lack of updates  You all know-it's been crazy!!!

I wish I had answers, but what we know now is very little.  Cozy was discharged from the NICU on Monday.  We had a beautiful three days, but something changed on Thursday. Cozy was awake for 13 + hours straight. She was erratic, irritable, and more hungry than usual. As the day progressed, her heart rate increased significantly, as did her fussiness. There were no other symptoms (no fevers, etc), and she finally fell asleep around 1 am. We assumed she had just gotten over tired and over stimulated.

The next morning though, Cozy woke up around 7:30 a.m. She was still irritable, and her resting heart rate was in the 200.s. We also noticed a significant increase in the fulness of her fontanel and called our pediatrician. He had us come into the office where they conducted a urine test. Results showed positive for infection, but for Cozy, things are not as simple as a UTI.

We were admitted into the ER where they conducted a panel of tests, closely working with Primary's. She soon spiked a fever. We then were released into an ambulance and transferred to Primary Children's ER  More tests.  Eventually, Cosette was admitted into the Infant Care Unit.  It was a loooooong day.  over 14 hours sitting in various rooms, hoping for answers.

Even now, we don't  have many:/  All of our blood and CSF tests were negative. There were worrisome indicators that showed there definitely is infection, but the source or reason for it is unknown.  All samples are being cultured, but nothing has grown so far. In some ways this is good, but in many others, we really wish we just ha a concrete problem we could tackle.  For now, Cozy is on a slew of antibiotics that seem to be helping.  Her fevers come and go, but she is usually calmed with Tylenol.  Her demeanor is mostly unchanged-just more tired.

That's about it sadly.  We could be there for a week. It could be a month.  We may have to take out her shunt. We may be released with a prescription for antibiotics

    

Then May 14th,  a.m.

 And Yesterday brought on a few more answers, but I can't exactly say I'm happy about them all :/

Some of Cozy's cultures have started growing organisms. There are signs of staph infection and possible mrsa. There are also indications of meningitis. Nothing is concrete though, so we will have to wait for Infectious Disease to classify everything. 

One thing is certain- her blood work definitely showed infection, soooo the shunt has to come completely out. Surgery is scheduled for this morning. *all the sighs

We hope it's only for a few days for the infection to clear, and then the shunt can be inserted again, but it could be weeks. It's going to be a day-by-day process to see what is next. 

Love you all.

And Monday Afternoon: May 15th, from Grandma Vicki

Cozy had surgery today removed all the shunt. Now we wait for her body and the antibiotics to fight the infection. In days, or weeks they will put the shunt back in. We are still praying for her little head to figure out how to move the fluid in it's own. That would really be so great...

We send our love to all, sorry we are so late with this letter but wanted to wait until we heard about Cozy - & then the afternoon & evening got busy!

Love you all & CTR Mom & Dad

Oh, how I love technology!

April 30, 2017

Dearest Family!

     Oh, how I love technology! I had much of the letter written & somehow just lost it!  Super frustration!!!! Well, it has been another wonderful week!  The weather has been much cooler with snow in the wonderful state we live in!  Here it is, already the end of April, time really flys!

     As you have probably already noticed, I didn't get the letter sent last week - it was written but never mailed.  Monday & Wednesday of this week, I helped at the local Blood draw from 6:30 to 10:00 a.m.  On Tuesday, Darece & I went to Billings, leaving early.  Mornings are when I usually do these things.

     Our Sunday today was much like last week only we went to Meeteetse, another small ward only this one is smaller, with most of its leadership coming from Cody & Powell. We love visiting these smaller units - such a sweet spirit there. Again we spoke in Sac Mtg then presented a 5th Sunday Lesson.  Even during SS time I helped several people set up their LDS Acct &  get the apps downloaded.  Dad was busy setting up for our class. In both of these buildings we set up our own wifi hot spot running a wire directly to the chapel where we are giving our class, otherwise there is not enough service.   Again, the saints are so amazed that they can find a name!  They are excited to learn about adding stories & pictures, also!  What a blessing it can be in our lives! Today it was great to help a brother & his son, so discouraged because they just couldn't get there tree set up & knew something should be there.   Miracles happen & while Dad & I were helping him & others, abt 30-40, he happened to locate a duplicate.   I had said to him,  "If you will stay a few minutes after, I am sure I can help you"   and with what he found we were able to get one side of his tree connected. He & his son were both so excited & then he felt he could talk to his mother, get several names & could get the other side connected!  He is preparing to go to the temple with his son & they will both do family names.

     After attending meetings in Meeteetse, we traveled to Burlington to visit a ward who just got a new bishop, Matt McNiven. We enjoyed their 5th Sunday lesson on preparedness, then went on to Worland.There we went to a piano recital.  Ira & Leanne both played twice! They both did great!

      The rest of the week was filled with Skype trainings, some home visits, yard work, etc. The lawns are over 7" tall due to the rains and not being able to mow them.  Dad has been doing a little preventive maintenance so that maybe if we have another flood,  we feel more confident it will run away from the house! 

      Vicki's last report on Cozy as of April 25, some of you may have already received it:

"It sure feels way longer than a week since Cozy had her surgery. She is doing great:)  She weighs over 9 lbs! She still needs oxygen and her feeding tube. It is expected that she will have those when she comes home as well. She takes abt 20-30 ccs from a bottle.  She should be able to go home when her eyes are more developed.  the way I undestand it - at home Cozy would only have access to 100% oxygen.  In the hospital, it's mixed oxygen.  the 100% oxygen can damage eyes that are not fully developed  It's been so nice to be able to hold and love her without feeling like we are hurting her:)

Well, we send our love to all,   Mom & Dad