These past past two weeks have been great!

Dearest Family,

     Happy 3rd Birthday today to Emerson!!!     Then next Saturday, July 1, is Ryan's Birthday & on Tues, July 3 it is Chris's Birthday! Hope each one of you have a very special day!   Love you all!

      Well, it is time to get back in the grove.   I was just reviewing my past letters & am not sure when the last one was but I thought it saw 2 weeks ago!  

     These past past two weeks have been great!  Each Saturday we leave at abt 1 p.m. for Bozeman!  On Sunday Morning we have traveled to Belgrade & done training there for their Ward Councils. We love meeting the people!  Saturday nites have been spent at a kind Bishop's home. We so appreciate their hospitality! We have also met with his HPriest Group leader & several consultants. In these two wards there have been less connections to the BHBasin!  One brother was raised in Fromberg tho, left 39 years ago & moves to Bozeman.  They found the gospel there!  Today we also met a couple, she is from the Philipines & he from Sicily! Not to many records from those two countries are available for doing Family History.

    The weeks are flying by!  We have been doing lots of training  using a program called Zoom - it is amazing & works much better than Skype!  It has a lot more ability to share screens & show videos than others.Last week Dad was experimenting & had 4 people on, all taking an active part. Thanks to those of you who have helped   We really appreciate it!

      Dad's latest Chromebook arrived last Wednesday & it seems to be working correctly!  He is really impressed with the speed that it works at!  

     One afternoon we helped in our Lovell FHC - Reviewing with Temple & Family History Consultants how to climb around in someone's tree, using the App & then help them find a name in 30-40 minutes!  this can be an amazing spiritual experience for people but is most successful is done "one on one"

      We have enjoyed having some of you stop in,   Allen & family last Saturday a.m, (Amber was at an Auxriliary Training Mtg, we missed you)  Darece has been by with Athena & Lucy! And Rob has stopped by!

     Here is the latest from Vicki about Cozy & also a picture:   "Hello dear family. Cozy has been home for several days. She is doing well. Kirena managed to catch her smile Kirena tries not to think about the brain collapse too much, but it is worrisome for her.  It sounds awful, and it could be...but so far cozy seems fine. Her ventricles are like big water balloons in her head with brain matter on the outside. When they drained it allowed space for a part of the brain to fold over on itself. We are hopeful as her ventricles fill up to normal her brain will also go to it's correct spot. There is a chance the fluid will fill up around the fold, or hemorage, or brain bleed...but it's a 'wait and see how cozy acts' type of a thing. They won't do anything to prevent it. Just fix it if necessary."

     I am also attaching a picture taken today of Lexie! She was blessed today!

Love Dad and Mom

Hope all is going great for each of you!

June 4 & 11th, 2017

Dearest Family,

      Happy 83rd Birthday, Uncle Bruce on Friday, June 9th!  Happy 18th Birthday Kaitlyn on Tuesday, June 13, Happy Birthday Allen on June 15, Thursday!  Joy & Dak will be celebrating their 23rd Anniversary on Saturday, June 17th. Have a great day! 

     We have an announcement - Nathan &  Bri will be getting married in the Oakland Temple, Saturday, September 2 at 11:00 a.m.  He wanted all of you to know!

      Hope all is going great for each of you!  It has been a wonderful week here! Dad enjoyed visiting with all of you on his birthday! Thanks so much for the Chromebook computer!

     It has been a beautiful summer week!  We have worked in the yard some, weeded some, & even planted garden & a few flowers!  The temps are beginning to feel like summer also with warmer nights also!

  

     The past two week was centered around getting ready for our Sundays in Bozeman Montana!  Left Saturday afternoon - it was a beautiful drive!  Stayed in the home of the Stake President, then visited 3 wards.  Presented "The Gatherers or the Kingdom during S School time to members of each ward council & Temple & Family History Consultants.  Enjoyed our time with each group! Then on the 10th we stayed with  Bishop Madsen of the Bozeman 3rd ward. Taught his mother & father-in-law who were visiting, the Bishop & his wife & 12 year old daughter.  It was so wonderful when each of them found names to take to the temple.  Today in the three Bozeman wards we did hands on training or tryed.  In the morning the FamilySearch programs work just great but come late afternoon the saints all over the church are being so diligent, They are keeping the Sabbath Day holy by doing Family History & the system just gets bogged down!  FS keeps expanding their Cloud data base each Sunday but still can't keep up with the use.... It has been an amazing two weeks - most are so excited with just a few who find the smaller devices hard to use!  There are such special people every where we go!  It is great to be out among the saints!

     We have had wonderful days during the week also!   I went to Billings with Darece, McKenzea & Athena on Tuesday. Nice day! Dad did a service project at HSBend then two FH trg in the afternoon. On Wednesday Dad went to Horseshoe Bend then again on Friday , we both went!  Found a spot by the dock, a trash pile on the water where the catfish were feeding. We casted to the edge of this and caught several fish both days! We kept two 24"er both days It has been ages since we have been able to go fishing!  We had fresh catfish the next day!  The sheep are doing extra duty this year eating all the 3 ft tall mustard . . . its amazing Thanks Barretts for these harvesters. One of these day they will start on the grass.

        Cozy has been at home the past two weeks, the whole family together!   She will be having surgery again this week because she is still retaining fluid in her head, we have no details as to when.  

Also Michelle is recovering from some surgery last week - as reported on facebook!   Love & prayers for all of them.

Love you all!

Mom & Dad

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

What a beautiful day it was today!

Dearest Family,

     Happy 2nd Birthday to Athena on Wednesday, April 26.  Happy 24th Anniversary to Bill & Kathy Croft on Sunday, April 30!

    What a beautiful day it was today!  We left before 7:00 a.m. to go to Tensleep, The countryside between here & there is so green & it rained during the night  so the colors are extra rich & vibrant.  Even in the deserts of Wyoming! We talked in Sac Mtg then during RS/Priest did training with the ward members. So grateful for inspiration & guidance as we do this work!  It is always exciting to be apart of this great work!  So Many were so excited!  

     From there we traveled to Worland & attended the last half of Sac Meeting in Allen's ward.  That was special. Visited with the kids & Amber before they went to primary & SS. Amber is now the Primary President.   During SS time Dad talked with a High Councilor who is over FH & I enjoyed Allen & Neil. Neil is trying to decide if he will enjoy the Nursery, a little reluctently! Stopped on the way home to visit with Lavon & Leona - so glad we did!  Probably won't get back that way for a while!

     It has been a busy week, full of Skyping, a trip to Cody & one to Powell.

     Friday we had a little excitement when the canal flooded across the road & into our place. It surely is frustrating when these things happen because of negilence on the part of others!  For about a half hour there was a little excitement around here. We were blessed that  it went across the old garden area, from there back into the canal, & also the across the lower driveway & into the field.  We have yet to learn if it will cross the driveway, & down into the greenhouse area & basement. 

      As of Saturday, Cozy had had a normal week,  an uneventful one!  That is what they pray for. So everything must have been successful with the last surgery!

We love all of you,   have a great week & CTR    Mom & Dad