You Never Know . . .

. . . when life will take you down a path that you didn’t plan on. But then, that’s what this life is all about- unexpected detours and challenges to face and overcome or endure well. That’s part of The Great Plan of Happiness and I, for one, am so grateful for Our Heavenly Father’s Plan! For the most part, I have had a blessed life, with occasional and assorted challenges, so it is about time, I guess, for a little stretching and growing.

So, what is this all about? Here’s a little history. . . In February, during the middle of NAEP testing, I came down with a viral flu-like illness with the usual chills, fever, aches, and cough. When I started having chest pain along with it, I knew something else was going on. I couldn’t lie down, because the pain on the right side of my chest was so severe. Thank goodness for an awesome primary care doctor who figured out what was going on. (May I say that I was NOT impressed with the urgent care doctor I saw first.) I was diagnosed with acute pericarditis, an inflammation of the sac that surrounds the heart that was caused by the viral infection. I was put on high dose ibuprofen and it was quite a miracle drug. Within a day or two, I was so much better. I am still on it for another couple of weeks to completely get rid of the inflammation. In addition to the frequent blood tests, I was sent for an EKG (which was normal) and an echocardiogram. A couple of days after the echo, I read my results on my laptop at home and I was dumbfounded! The echo showed that I have “severe left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction.” The translation is that the muscle in the bottom chamber of the heart on the left side is severely enlarged. It is doing ok in pumping blood from the heart, but when the heart relaxes so that it can fill with blood returning to the heart, it can’t relax and fill correctly because the muscle is thickened and stiff so less blood can come into the chamber. When I read the report, I was in shock thinking, “How could this have happened? I have been doing everything right- exercising, eating a low-fat diet, keeping my weight down, and my blood pressure has been well-controlled for years.” And yet, I had an overwhelming feeling “This is a tender mercy of the Lord!” I had the echocardiogram for an unrelated problem and this is what was found. The key here is that it was found! Not on an autopsy report! Seemingly young healthy people do die unexpectedly, especially after exercise, and this condition can be a reason for their deaths.

My primary care doctor wanted to see me ASAP. He said that he just couldn’t understand it since I live such a healthy lifestyle and I am young (as opposed to OLD!) In fact, he said that it looked like the report was for a person in their 70’s or 80’s. In the words of my doctor, “This is very troubling.” So, he referred me to a cardiologist. Since they were booking out 4 months, my doctor called down and said I needed to be seen right away. I did have to wait 3 ½ weeks and that was long enough! In the meantime, my doctor told me to stop exercising completely until I could see the cardiologist. Even with the wait, I continued to feel that the whole situation was a tender mercy. I have not felt panicked or “freaked out,” but I have felt calm. A couple of weeks ago, we went to the temple and during the session, a prayer that was given asked for peace and calm for any who were in the session and needed a special blessing. The tears came as I recognized another tender mercy. I acknowledge the hand of the Lord in my life at this time and it is a great blessing to have this feeling of calm and peace.

David and I met with the cardiologist last Monday. I went into the appointment thinking that it would be all bad news. However, the cardiologist was very upbeat. He told me up front that it was his job to help me get better. We spent about an hour with him and he was very thorough in taking my health history, my family medical history, and in his examination. All along the way, he kept saying “This is good,” in response to my answers to questions and information given, listening to my heart and looking at my EKG, and looking at results of various medical tests. In other words, I have a number of good things going for me, even though the diagnosis is not good. He even said that there is a promising new medication that can actually reverse the hypertrophy, when added to a medication that I have been taking for years. So, here’s the plan for the next month or so: I am to wear a heart monitor 24/7 for the next month. I went the next day to the hospital to get instructions and to get hooked up for the first time. I will be monitored constantly at Intermountain Medical Center and at some other location in the U.S. My cardiologist will be able to monitor me during the month, as well, and if anything shows up, he will be in touch. If I have any heart symptoms, I simply touch a button on the cell phone transmitter and then call an emergency number. At the end of the month, I will have a stress echocardiogram with the cardiologist right there and we’ll see how everything looks then. In the meantime, I am able to do some minimal exercise (the key word is minimal!). It really makes me laugh. On the treadmill, I can advance from 0-4% grade over time and 1.5-3.5 mph over time. I have to do a 10 minute warm-up (how do you warm up with those parameters?!?) and I can exercise for an hour at a time. I’ve done it a couple of days so far and it is crazy slow and dumb, but I will be a compliant patient!

My bottom line is that I will do everything I can to work with the cardiologist to get this condition figured out and to overcome this challenge. I’m also working with my Heavenly Father on the situation, as well, and I appreciate the tender mercies which I have felt all along the way. I know of his love and I look on this as an opportunity to grow spiritually and come closer to my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ. I appreciate all the prayers of and family and friends and I thank all who have put my name on temple prayer rolls. I surely couldn’t do this without the support and love of family, friends, and, especially, from my greatest supporter and cheerleader, my husband David.

I love the poem by Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken.” The two last lines are especially meaningful to me as I head down a path that I wouldn’t necessarily have wanted to take: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."

I end as I began, “You never know when life will take you down a path that you didn’t plan on.” I now find myself on the path “less traveled by,” not by my choice, for I probably would have taken the path that was easier and more well-traveled. I trust, however, with this opportunity to stretch and grow, I will be able to say, in time, “that has made all the difference.”

Time Off for a Little Culture

Our lives have become pretty much consumed by our jobs with the National Assessment of Education (NAEP) for the last several months. David is the head of a 6 person team and I am his unofficial assistant. He attended training in Los Angeles in December (I enjoyed a mini-vacation while David was in class and then we visited Amy and her family for a couple of days.) and then in January, we started pre-assessment visits to each of the 17 schools where we will be testing students. We had to figure out all the details for the testing, gather information from principals and teachers, and try to figure out accomodations for students with special needs. We started testing two weeks ago. Our garage is full of boxes of booklets for testing (3 schools were done by the time I took a picture)

and our living spaces have become work spaces.

In addition, this week we were "on loan" to another testing group on a day that we weren't testing. That meant finishing up at a school in Salt Lake, driving out to Vernal, Utah, to test the next day in a school in Roosevelt, and then driving back to test the next day in Salt Lake. We stayed at a great hotel, with a great pool, jacuzzi, and breakfast, so it wasn't too much of an "ordeal" (except for the -16 degrees + windchill factor). We will be going back for a "Valentine's Day getaway," so we can help with testing the next day in Vernal. In the meantime, I work at the Bountiful clinic tomorrow before heading back to schools again for the rest of the week.

In the midst of all this testing, we had a day off and David suggested that we take a day for a date. We went down to the BYU Museum of Art to see a special exhibition, "Carl Bloch : The Master's Hand." (See at http://carlboch.byu.edu/.) Bloch was Danish religious art painter whose works have been adopted by the LDS Church for many publications, covers of manuals, and art found in chapels, temples, and Visitor Centers. The exhibit featured 4 altar pieces, removed from churches in Denmark and Sweden, plus one altar piece that the BYU Museum of Art owns- "Christ Healing the Sick at Bethesada." The exhibit also included other masterpieces- my favorite being "The daughter of Jarius." The exhibit was magnificent!! Several times, I had tears in my eyes because I was so moved by the works. The painting of Christ being supported by an angel in Gethsemane was especially touching.Having an ipad with additional information and videos was wonderful, as well. After visiting the special exhibit, we had a fabulous lunch at the museum's cafe (famous for its inexpensive, yet gourmet, fare) and saw the other exhibits at the museum. Next, we headed down to the Springville Museum of Art and saw a special exhibit of photographer Don Busath's work and then checked out the rest of the museum. We think it is quite the jewel of a museum! Then we visited Grandma and Grandpa Tanner for a couple of hours before heading back to Salt Lake to the Conference Center Little Theater for an evening of dance by the BYU Ballroom Dancers. It was a marathon day of a date and a wonderful cultural experience!

This weekend, we took another cultural break and attended "Les Miserables" at Woods Cross High School.

It truly was spectacular. The sets and costumes were awesome, the choruses of idealistic students at the barricade, "Lovely Ladies," in fact, all the choruses were strong and powerful, and the leads were amazing. Eponine (played by Laura Alley, of our ward) and Cosette were especially amazing and Marius and Jean Valjean were great, as well. Janet Cook and company (including Kate and Sandra doing costumes) pulled off another miraculous musical and everyone is talking about it and flocking to it. Glad we went the second "premier" night and had wonderful seats.

We loved all the cultural moments and they certainly brought a needed break, lifted our spirits, and gave us perspective as only art and music can do.

Our "New Home"

It's about time I posted pictures of our new bathroom and bedroom. There still are some painting, installing, and unpacking projects to finish and I need to make curtains, nevertheless, we are loving our new rooms. First, the closet. I love having "a place for everything and everything in its place." It is great to go in and know exactly where to find something instead of having to rummage through so much "stuff" crammed into a small space. Next up is our bedroom. The extra space is so wonderful! The new room feels spacious compared to our old room. We even have room for a comfy chair. We love the sunny yellow walls which are especially cheery since we've had a lot of dreary weather outside. Our bed has a new look with the set that we received for Christmas from two of our daughters.We love having a fireplace! It is so great- we can lie in bed and with the touch of a button, we turn it on first thing in the morning and voila! the room is toasty in a matter of minutes! And, we have entered the world of HD TV! We never knew what we were missing- especially watching gorgeous wildlife shows and sports are pretty awesome. We still have to get the blu-ray player hooked up so we can watch movies in HD.Here's a sneak peek at the bathroom . . .There are so many things to love about our new bathroom! David often says things like "I really like this bathroom!" which is great to hear after the frustrations that came with the remodel. But, what's not to like? It is such a luxury to have a nice big bathroom! Our old bathroom was really more of a hallway into the closet with an adjoining small toilet/shower area (The old shower was 3' x 3'- I don't hit my elbow on the walls or doorway anymore!). It is so much fun to have such a great space! Included is a small toilet area that can be closed off with a pocket door and there's a linen closet next to the vanity with space at the bottom for light and dark clothes "hampers"and floor to ceiling shelves.Here's the vanity area . . .Here's the new shower that feels like we're visiting a spa . . .And, last but not least, our new bathtub area. It is an air-jetted tub rather than a jacuzzi and the bubbles are wonderfully soothing. It is a great place to relax with a good book!So there you have it. We love spending time in our new home and hope that we can show it to you in person some time soon. Visit us anytime and we'll give you the "official" tour!

An Update

We are taking a break from the remodel, spending several days in Los Angeles. David is attending training in preparation for heading up a team for testing in the schools again in January and February. I'm hanging out and getting some projects done during the day- one of which is posting a few pictures of progress on our new bedroom and bath. We really are getting close to moving back in and enjoying our new rooms.

The closet is done and it will be great to have everything in one place, instead of scattered in closets all over the house. Love the new shelves! The narrow ones are for shoes.

The bedroom has a new light, as well as the bathroom. The bathroom is almost done. The vanities are installed and the granite is in place. The water is on, the lights are working, and the tiling is done. We are just waiting for a mirror and shower door and glass to close off the shower. They will arrive next week when we return.

The last project was painting the hall and entry before the carpet arrived. It looks wonderful- so clean and bright! And, we love the carpet- we walk into rooms and feel like they are brand new!
What a lift and such a gift! We are in the process of cleaning and moving back in. We will have to work fast when we return home, for Tom and Amy and their family are arriving a couple of days after we return. How exciting it will be to have them see the fruits of two month's worth of hard work.

This December, our home is feeling pretty happy as we celebrate living here for 32 years! Happy anniversary and thanks for all the memories!

Family Christmas Party Highlights

Yesterday, our extended family gathered for the annual family Christmas party. We rejoice as a family each year that we are able to celebrate another Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa. This year, they are both 94 years old . . .-but not too old to sit on Santa's knee! In fact, Grandma joined Grandpa and then the great-grandchildren gathered around. What a great memory-maker and it certainly was a "photo op!"We missed a number of family this year. Some were out of town for the Thanksgiving weekend, the big BYU-Utah game claimed another who scored a ticket to the game, David's sister and brother-in-law are serving a mission in Tokyo, Japan (a bit of a commute), and a few others were missing here and there, but it still was a fun time and a chance to visit and do some "catching up." With all of our family living out of state, we just find a family to "adopt" us and this year we had the pleasure of visiting with Mark and Kellie and their family, from Green River, Wyoming. I also had the great joy of holding the newest member of the family, Paige and Dan's adorable son. This picture is especially for Barbara and Rulon . . .David got a chance to talk to Santa.

Then Santa asked the two of us what we wanted for Christmas. That was a "no-brainer!" We told him we wanted to be done with our new bedroom and bathroom and the house back in order and clean!It was a fun party and we appreciate the work that Michael and Marilyn did to prepare for such a large gathering. Just getting to see David's mom and dad with their family was a joyful occasion. That's a big part of what Christmas is about!Have a wonderful Christmas season!

The Tortoise and the Hare

You've heard the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. Our remodel is a little like this story. It seems that the hare is taking lots of time off these days, but the tortoise is plogging along, making good progress. So, who is the hare and who is the tortoise, you may ask. Our contractors show up some days for a while and some days not at all, but David is on the job every day. He is amazingly dedicated. He is painting every day, running around picking things up all over town (I bet he'd like to have a dollar for every trip he's made to Home Depot or Lowes!), working on some part of the project, and enduring it all, although he has said that this remodel is getting really old. I'm at work almost every day, so I haven't been able to help him, but I will be having a few more days off so I can help here and there. Yesterday, I actually got quite a few nail holes filled with spackling compound!

So, for those of you who are wondering how things are going and what's happening, here are a few more shots of our progress. . . .

Supplies such as tile and grout are ready to go.

David has been painting around all the mess. He made sure he got the bathroom painted before they started on the tile. He is also going to paint the hall, entry, and down the stairs. Yesterday he painted inside the double closet in the hall and it looks so bright and clean- it even made him feel great to get that done.
Although its hard to tell from this angle, our room looks much bigger with the lighter walls. The color is "Tea Cookie." Sounds good to me. The crown molding is up and the baseboards are in, as well as some of the trim around doors. The carpet is ordered and the vanity is in boxes in the garage. We're hoping the vanity will be installed tomorrow so that the granite guys can come and template for the countertop.
The floor has been tiled and grouted
and the floor of the shower is almost finished. We hope the shower will be done in the next day or two so the guy can come and measure for the glass and door for the shower.

The best surprise of all was when I came home from work the other night and this is what I saw!

It was so beautiful!! It still needs to be grouted, but we love it! When things turn out this great, it makes the dust and the disarray and the displacement worth it, but we will be happy when we can move back in and enjoy our beautiful new rooms- hopefully, before Christmas!

Another Remodel!

We must be "gluttons for punishment!" Here we are again, in the middle of a major remodel. The house is covered with fine dust, we are living out of boxes and stacked-up drawers, we are sleeping downstairs on a bed that we didn't know made you roll to the middle (two thoughts- 1) we apologize to our kids and their spouses for the bed they've been sleeping on when they visit and 2) it brings back memories of the first bed we shared after getting married), but we are excited about the remodel and know that these things will pass. We have been thinking for some time about combining our room with Brian's old bedroom to make a "master suite." We talked to our contractor guy from the kitchen remodel and he had "a two month window" where he could do the job and we had a "two month window" before the holidays when some of the family will be coming. It also comes at a good time because I am working full-time and that means extra money. . . . So, we decided to "go for it!" We started with a few different sketches and then came up with a plan.

The demolition begins.

This trailer held a ton of debris from our former bathroom, closet, and Brian's room.
David had to put insulation in the attic (where there never was any, we found out. No wonder the closet was always freezing!) He'll still have to blow insulation in the attic to replace all that fell out with the demolition.

First up was the electrical and then the plumbing. This will be our new vanity area.
Then sheetrocking- this will be our new shower.
The sheetrocked vanity area and linen closet.

Our new air jet tub. (Not a jacuzzi.)

This is the extra space added to our room when we took out the toilet and the shower. The doorway leads into the walk-in closet.

The sheetrock gets a first coat of mud.

It has to be mudded and sanded 3 times, hence all the dust. I don't know what we were thinking- we covered all the furniture with the kitchen remodel but didn't this time around. I guess we thought that the dust would be contained behind the canvas that is hanging in the hall to block off the work zone. Wrong! I hit the ottoman in the living room the other day and a cloud of dust arose. We literally will have to clean every nook and cranny of this house when we're all done.

Next up will be painting, after the sheetrocking, and then the tile will be installed. We've bought the paint and will be ordering carpet soon. I really wanted a fireplace in our bedroom and we were thrilled to find a guy who runs a fireplace business out of his garage. We were able to put a fireplace in the bedroom and a gas log insert in our family room for the same price as one fireplace at the retail fireplace stores in the area. This is the insert in the family room . . .
And, (ta da!! ) this is a picture of the awesome fireplace that is in our bedroom!

More to come as the work progresses. . . .