If you have ten minutes

You should really read this wonderful article titled Family Work. It was published in BYU Magazine, and it really helped me to solidify some of my ideas regarding how to raise children who are not afraid of working hard.

Have a cheerful day, my friends.

I think we have a diagnosis

I'm not counting my chickens before they're hatched, but as of right now we think it's Guillain-Barre syndrome.

I don't know, but it's possible that Josh was given a flu vaccine upon arriving at basic which might have triggered a relapse.

But he signed the separation papers today, and with seven more signatures he'll be free to come home. (It should take between one and two weeks if all goes well)

Finally

Something is happening. Today Josh has a doctor's appointment to go over his civilian medical records. From there? Well, who knows. I sure don't.

In the meantime, diapers and babies and playing at the park today. Hopefully.

Big sigh

Spit up on my shoulder, a naked toddler who wants to eat nothing but goldfish, and no news to report on the husband. Except I saw a photo that the missionaries sent me, and he looks absolutely skeletal. I'm going to have to work hard to get some weight back on him.

Today I'm going to shower, go to the dry cleaners and the bank, take the kids to the park (I hope) and try to keep my chin up.

Next step? Figure out why the baby is crying.

Ready to have a conniption?

There's mercury in the high fructose corn syrup. You know, that "natural" sweetener that's in just about every package on the shelf at the grocery store.

Want more information? This is a serious issue, affecting lots of name brands (Quaker and Coca-Cola, anyone?) and nearly half of the commercial high fructose corn syrup produced.
Read more here, at The Ethicurean or here, at the IATP health observatory.

Anybody hyperventilating yet? I sure am not pleased at this development, which was brought to the FDA's attention four years ago.

Time to go again

The reason I like to stay up late? Because I'm not ready to admit that the day is over and I have to go to sleep so that I can wake up and start life all over again.

I'm focused today on getting Josh's medical records faxed. Shoot! I just realized it's Wednesday, and the neurology office is closed on Wednesday's. The receptionist told me my power of attorney doesn't apply to medical records. Last night I read it over, and I'm pretty sure she's wrong.

So I guess today my focus is on getting a package of books sent out to Josh's dorm. I sent him a package two weeks ago, including a couple Garfield books that his dormmates really enjoyed; they asked him to have me send more fun stuff. Apparently morale's pretty low a lot of the time and anything that makes people smile is helpful. So I'm going to hit the thrift store, and maybe a used bookstore, to see what I can find.

I hope everybody's having a good day. Mine's going to be pretty straightforward. Comfort Leo (shots yesterday--he's still a little out of sorts), try to teach Guy how to be kind and not yell all the time, and stay sane while waiting. And waiting.

Thoughts on Doctrine

Yesterday we had a special Relief Society program during church. The focus was on visiting teaching, and they served a lovely light breakfast.

Let me first say that many people were touched, some were moved, and I heard several people say they felt inspired of the importance of visiting teaching, and that they would better serve in the future.

The basic set up as we walked in consisted of a projector screen in the middle of the room, with two small tables on either side. At each table was a lamp and a journal and a sister seated. The lights went off and a picture was put up on the screen of the two sisters dressed in white. One lamp turned on, and they pressed play on a tape recorder. "Elizabeth Long, Journal Entry 1, Pre-existence" and the voiceover continued explaining things that were happening, how she felt about the war in heaven, and far too many points of dubious doctrine for my liking.

The entire program went through as these two sisters came to earth, one was strong in the gospel and the other was inactive, and through visiting teaching these two sisters found each other as friends once more and because of the impact of Sarah, Elizabeth was "instead of a mother of generations of apostates, the mother of generations of faithful latter-day saints."

The obvious message is that one sister can make more difference than we ever realize through befriending another sister and being good visiting teachers. The message is a good one, and I am certain that many hours of thought, prayer, and preparation went into the program.

Just not my cup of tea. I would appreciate it if our church leaders were sometimes a little more careful in the speculation they allow or encourage during Sunday meetings.

But I was inspired to be a better visiting teacher. Now I just need to know if the Lord wants me here long enough for my mother (who is the VT Coordinator) to assign me a route. That's one of the hardest parts about not knowing when Josh will be home. I feel like I don't really belong to a ward right now, thought I have strong ties to two wards. I want a calling. I like visiting teaching. I enjoy performing in Sacrament meeting.

A future full of unknowns is hard, plain and simple. I'm grateful for the Lord's support and the many angels who are helping through this difficult time. But I miss my husband.