Walt's Post-Op Day 23 - May 24, 2012

Walt's Post-Op Day 23...Thursday, May 24
Today David came and took us out to lunch...
Photo left to right: Walt, Gary, Grama A, David

Gary took a photo of Walt and me at the fun "Mom 'n Pop" Café we went to in downtown Lehi "Emmet's and Ethel's"

When we got back to Julie 'n John's, it was just in time for Maddie's birthday party...2 more girls came after the photo, so there were 14 in all. 

It was a water party with a "Mermaid" theme, so they brought swim suits and ran through the water. Maddie had fun opening her presents.

Everyone loved the chocolate birthday cupcakes and ice cream.

Walt's Post-Op Day 22 - May 23 - Wednesday...
Steve and Natalie had us over for a Lasagne Supper after Carter's soccer game...  Then Steve treated us to milkshakes on the way back to Julie & Johns...

Earlier in the day, we had a great visit with dear friends, Bill and Pat Burk.  We had worked with them in Argentina when they were the executive secretaries for the Area Presidency.

They returned about 2 1/2 months ago from being in the temple presidency of the Dominican Republic Temple. 

They have just been called as the new temple president and matron of the Guatemala Temple, and will begin November 1st.  So Walt said now we call them "Presidente y Hermana Burk."

Walt had an excellent physical therapy workout...

It was "pirate day" for Jackson's first grade class...

Walt's Post-Op Day 21, Tuesday, May 22...

Isaac Walter graduated from Kindergarten...

Maddie lost a tooth...

Just throwing in this photo of our family from our 50th Anniversary last June....

Walt's Post-Op Day 19-20-21-22

Walt's Post-Op Day 22...
    Just beginning. He will be going to physical therapy in an hour -- 
Here he is with his physical therapist in his session on Monday.

...more to come

Walt's Post-Op Days 16-17-18

Saturday, May 19 - Post-Op Day 18
Fisher and Mechams come from Rexburg to see Grampa
Janie & Shawn, Michael - Aimee & Michael
They had left Heidi and Ashley with their Jazz Dance group at Lagoon for the competitions throughout the day.

Gary, Jacob and Isaac; Steve & Natalie also came over...
Natalie took this photo.

I took this photo...

Friday, May 18...Post-Op Day 17:
Julie getting ready for the Y.W. annual fund-raiser auction...

Jacee helped maked 29 bows with a shimmery center...

...Grampa did some computering

Thursday, May 17 - Post-Op Day 16
Walt signed up at the Saratoga Springs IHC Physical Therapy center with Derick Woolf teaching him what needs to be done.
    We didn't get any photos because my old (only 1 1/2 yrs old) camera completely stopped working and the new one didn't arrive until May 17.


It's so nice now to have a new camera that works.
John helped me order on line an Olympus Stylus 5010 sky blue which arrived in 2 days with no shipping costs. Thanks, John, for your expertise on computer ordering.

Walt's Post-Op Day 15

Our son Steve took us to lunch at Chili's today. Then he drove us over to Highland to see a beautiful home they are just finishing.  Steve started a custom home company "Picasso" a year or so ago.  Now Julie's husband, John, works with him.  
   We are staying with Julie and John during Walt's convalescence.

Walt is still in pain today. Steve is holding him up in the above photo.  Then he got his walker again.

   Tomorrow he has an appointment at his nuerosurgeon's office and hopefully we will know more then.

Steve's son, Kimble, walked over to Julie & John's yesterday after his karate class.  He is a very neat 13-year-old young man .

I took several other photos, but my camera is not functioning and most of the photos did not "take" when I thought they had.
   We ordered a new camera yesterday which is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.  Hopefully, more photos then.

Walt's Post-Op Day 14

Walt wanted to see if he could start walking outside today.
We walked about 3  blocks in Julie's neighborhood.
I couldn't get photos because my camera card won't engage into the
camera any more. Walt said I may have to buy a new camera before we go back.
      Julie took one of us ready to head out....with our walkers (I used Grama A's walker) and our hats....It got to 80º today in Saratoga Springs.

Tonight after supper, John & Julie and kids hoed their new garden for family home evening.  Jacee, Jackson, and Maddie didn't think that sounded like a fun FHE, but they were good sports about it.
    I held the camera card in with my thumb and snapped the photo with my other hand. Awkward, but it worked.

If you click the photo to enlarge it, you can see what Uncle Steve is talking about when he e-mailed: "I feel the pain on Jack's face."


John is teaching the kids the difference in the little corn stalks just coming up and the weeds.

Walt enjoyed talking to Dale & Connie when they called from their California Los Angeles Mission.  They are working with a Spanish-speaking branch (?ward).

 Walt said he did feel more pain after walking, so maybe he'll have to wait a while to walk some more outside.  He's still icing his back and is anxious for the appointment at his neurosurgeon's office on Thursday, May 17.
He's hoping he will know more about the continued length of time for recuperating before going back to his temple duties at the San Salvador El Salvador Temple.
Continued thanks for your love, prayers, and support.

Walt's Post-Op Days 11-12

Walt's still up and down on his recuperation...
David and Julie brought in a take-out Chinese dinner (yummy!) for our day-before-Mother's-Day.  Anna, Sam, and William were with them, but we didn't get their photo.

Gary & Kathy's family was also here...

It was at Julie and John's because it's easier on Grama A to not take her too many  different places.

Our children gave me a beautiful Willow Tree "Grandmother, Tell Me a Story."  It is very precious.

Earlier, Janice drove down from Midvale and we took our Mom to lunch at the new Olive Garden in American Fork.  It was packed. It seems half--or more--of the Mother's in Utah County were being taken out to lunch!

 Janice said: "Mom, it's not very often that your two daughters are together and can be with you on the Mother's Day weekend."

We had a great time being together.

It is always a fun time to be together with family...

Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13, 2012

John and the kids--Jackson in photo--fixed breakfast in bed for Julie.

My 48th Mother's-Day breakfast "in bed"...or on the bed anyway.

Walt gave me the Willow Tree "Forget Me Nots," the book Forget Me Not by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, and a beautiful deep lavender orchid corsage.  Gary had given me some See's Famous Old Time Candies milk chocolates on Saturday.  And I got some fun Mother's Day cards from our kids.

Tonight Steve is furnishing all kinds of meat for bar-b-queing--ribs, steaks, chicken, etc., for a special dinner as a finalé to this 2012 Mother's Day.  John slow baked the baby-back ribs all day, then grilled just long enough to crisp up and glaze with the secret sauce.

      Will post photos of this in next post.

Walt wanted to attend Sacrament Meeting this morning.  However, by the time he got his suit on and had walked around in the walker a little, his body was telling him it was too much, and the pain was too intense for him to go.

When Julie & John dashed home to get something for her Young Women, Walt convinced me to go back to Relief Society with Julie and promised that he would not fall during that hour I would be gone.

     He kept his promise!

Julie's ward does a nice thing for the mothers every year on Mother's Day.  The young women teach primary, so all the Primary and Y.W. leaders and teachers get to attend Relief Society.

And their ward gives each mother a 1.5 oz See's Classic Milk Chocolate Bar.  Delicious!

Walt's Post-Op Day 10

Walt's not having as good a day as he had yesterday.
   The steri-strips were taken off today as in the Post-Op Directions for Day 10.  His incision has no redness nor infection and looks to be healing okay.

Julie thought Grampa needed some sunshine...so she helped him go out and sit on the back porch.

Just after going outside, Kathy, our sweet daughter-in-law--Gary's wife, came with McKell and Jacob, to pick up Isaac.

Kathy had just been to Jacob's 3rd grade call had just had a "Mother's Day" afternoon at school. The mother's had come for the gift of having their children give them a hand massage and paint their fingernails.
    Jacob did quite well for a 9-year-old.

Grama A is having lunch...

Grama A's recliner is next to the recliner Walt is in.  It is also next to the fireplace.  The rooster cookie jar by her is filled with treats...this week it has Hershey Kisses and mini-Snickers.  The great-grandchildren know that if they go over to Grama A and say "Cock-a-doodle-doo" she will let them lift the rooster's lid and choose a treat.

What she enjoys the very most is to have us read to her from her life story.  Her memory is still keen for those events way back in her earlier life.

Jacee was dressed in blue yesterday, so I got another photo of her with her BYU blue bouquet. (See yesterday's post that explains the reason for her bouquet.)

Julie's grade school ballroom students did an evening performance last night.  Here are Julie and Jacee ready to leave for it.

They had a quick rehearsal after school for the performance.  One of the boys was doing a cart wheel--which is part of one of the dances.  He landed on his arm wrong and Julie could tell that it was badly broken.  She had an ambulance come take him to the hospital.

    The markers she's holding are for the dance team to sign a "Get Well" card for him.

One last photo from Thursday, May 10....Grandchildren in costumes when Maddie, 4, and Isaac,  6, were playing. Oh the fun and imagination of childhood!

I said to Walt this morning "You'd think Heavenly Father would want to heal you quickly and then he would have fewer prayers to listen to."

  Nonetheless, we are so thankful for the many prayers being expressed for Walt's recovery.  Thank you for your love and caring.

Walt's Post-Op Day 9

Walt's having the best post-op day yet...May 10
He worked at the computer for a while.

Yesterday Jacee received word that she was chosen to be on the Pre-Teen BYU Ballroom Team.  This is for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders.
They chose 12 girls and 12 boys from tryouts last Sat., May 5 in Provo.
We gave Jacee a blue and white BYU bouquet as "Congratulations" for this great accomplishment.

We're so proud of Kimble for staying to fulfill his commitment to be Jacee's partner for these tryouts Saturday, even though he thought he would have to miss the trip to Boise with his family for the weekend.  
Luckily, John was able to drive Kimble and Steve to rendezvous with Natalie and Carter after Carter's soccer game Saturday afternoon in Tooele, so the whole family could drive on together to Boise to help Kelsey move their for her summer job.


Walt's has not had very much pain today. He is taking his 1 pain pill every 6 hours as instructed by Dr. Rich.