Our Christmas

I never got around to posting our Christmas card for posterity, so here it is.  A bit late, but better than never!

We had a little help from DiAnna to get this photo taken.  

Since we are down to the three of us, we just had to do something funny!

And here's our Christmas Update.  Definitely not a letter.

Of course, by now we all know that the knee surgery count is woefully inaccurate since Reed blew out his other knee on December 15. . . yeah. . . the same day he had an x-ray to see if he could be cleared to wrestle on account of his broken hand.  The answer to that was, "Ah. . .you aren't quite ready yet,"  which of course, Reed totally ignored.  For the record, Reed broke the knee AT wrestling practice, but he was not wrestling.  He was running ladders.  I always said running was dangerous.

We had a very nice Christmas.  Ed's sister Judy came out from Maine and stayed for 13 days.  I felt bad that we had a pretty low key visit since Reed was firmly implanted into the couch.  She did become well acquainted with Doug and Brenda Wilcox because Brenda came over to work on Reed's leg to decrease the pain.  She taught me a new crochet pattern and I have started a baby afghan.  We also played a LOT of Hand and Foot.   We all love that game.  The dogs laid around and loved all the attention that they could wrangle.

Reed received a Playstation 4 and a couple of games.  For his birthday we gave him an iPhone 6 because we just did not feel that giving him the golf stuff we had bought would be a good fit for a kid who had surgery that day and was missing a golf trip to St. George.  He got the golf stuff for Christmas along with an iPad Mini that we got for a song as a gift with purchase kind of thing.

I received a beautiful chestnut Coach purse that was stocked with a couple of gift cards and a $100 bill!  I got ink cartridges for my photo printer.  That might not sound like a great gift, but it was.  That printer takes NINE cartridges (4 that are shades of black!) and they are expensive critters.  I also got a frying pan with a non-stick diamond coating.   

  

Ed got a surveillance camera for down at the cabin.  I think my skinny dipping days are over because I am afraid that someone will hack our feed!  I'm pretty sure they would get more than they bargained for. . .much more.  He also got a WiFi music system that he is installing down at the cabin so we have some good music when we are there.  

It was a beautiful day with the snow falling continuously.  I had two favorite moments.

1.  Around 10:30 I got a call from Sister Clausen who is a Senior Missionary at Camp Pendleton.  She told me that she had spoken with Parker that morning and that he seemed happy and well. SHe also gave us some idea of what was going on there that day. That made my whole day.

2.  In the afternoon Colby and Danaca came over.  What do you give a married couple who has no space for stuff? A trip.  They were happy with the plane tickets because they thought they would cover the trip to Parker's graduation.  They looked a little stumped about the hotel nights, but Danaca just about exploded with joy when they opened the gift cards for 3 day Disney passes.  It was a riot!  We are sad that we did not video her reaction because it was so out of character!

Adversity

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

I have always adhered to this statement.  Thinking otherwise is just too darn depressing, but in reality it isn't necessarily so.  We meet adversity on a daily basis, but usually in small doses.  Sitting in a traffic jam may help teach us patience.  Having a reprimand from a boss helps keeps us humble and may well point out a weakness that needs to be strengthened.  These things help us grow.

We often hear that "God doesn't give us more than we can handle."

I'm sorry, but that is just not true.  Not all adversity comes in small doses.  Sometimes is is massive and terrible and overwhelming.

If we could handle everything that happens, we would never ask for His help.
If we could handle everything that happens, we would never be stretched and wouldn't grow.
If we could handle everything that happens, our faith would never be tested.

We came here to be tested.  To learn.  To grow.  To develop faith.  To learn to give and serve and to learn to be humble and receive.

None of these lessons come easily, but we do "handle" them.  Sometimes we accept the challenges with grace and sometimes we react in anger and hurt.  Sometimes we stretch and meet the challenge head-on and sometimes we withdraw into ourselves and hide from the problem.

Some people get stronger and then reach out to others.
Some people get angry and bitter at the unfairness of the challenge.
Sometimes people decide that they are not willing to be challenged anymore and remove themselves from the situation.

None of us particularly enjoy adversity.  But the worst is watching other people that we love have to deal with adversity.

I have a friend who seems to have a never ending stream of unbelievable challenges in her life.  A few she has brought upon herself, but most have been the result of situations far beyond her control.  I don't think she feels strong, but I see a totally different woman now than I knew just a few years ago.

Right now I am watching Reed be challenged with injuries.  I don't know why he is dealing with this.  He had surgery on his right knee in January after it dislocated during wrestling practice..  It was painful and difficult.  It tested his patience, his obedience, and his attitude.  Apparently he didn't learn enough because last month he broke his right hand.  And then yesterday he dislocated his left knee.  Here he is facing another missed season.  And yet, he has chosen to have surgery.

Last night he was mad and frustrated.  There were some tears and raw emotions.  He was asking, "Why me?  Why me again?"  It is a horrible thing to watch as a parent.  Because it is all true and all too real.  As the hours ticked by he began to understand the challenge before him.  His humor began to haltingly return.  He was willing to accept a Priesthood Blessing on his behalf and expressed gratitude and love to his dad and his brother, Colby.  This morning was as whole different story.  A few hours of sleep had allowed him to fully accept the challenge.  All traces of anger were gone.  There was no mention of how unfair it is that he is once again missing an activity he enjoys.  When given a choice to let things go or to have surgery, he decided to accept the additional pain of surgery in hopes of more complete healing.  I have to admit that I am stunned by his positive attitude.

I worry why he needs these lessons.  What will he face in the future?  Who will he need to help?  What is the purpose of these specific challenges?  I may never know the answers to these questions.  But if he is willing to walk by faith, so am I.

In the words of Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Come what may and love it."

Photo from http://www.landeeseelandeedo.com/

Pain Relief with Cranial Sacral Therapy

Some people will think I am a total nut, but I have a friend who is a healer.  Had she been born in the 1600's and lived in Salem, she probably would have been hung.  She is by trade a massage therapist but has branched out into Cranial Sacral Therapy.  She is trained and certified and I tell everyone I know about her..

A couple of years ago I went to her because I was having headaches.  CS Therapy involves a light touch on the body- very non-invasive.  As her hands drifted by my ankle she asked if it hurt. I told her it was a little sore since I had twisted it the previous week.  She "released" it and said it would find a way to exit my body.  It came out my ear.  Weirdest thing ever.  It hurt like heck for about 10 seconds and then my ear and my ankle were fine.

This friend, whose husband happens to be our Home Teacher, agreed to come to my house to work on Parker after his massive knee surgery. She sat on the couch and held his bad leg while carrying on a conversation with us.  She said it was pulsing, but Parker didn't notice anything.  He was relaxing, though.  Then she went to his good leg, explaining that the good leg was now doing a lot more work.  As soon as her second hand touched his leg, he startled and almost yelled, "Can you feel that?"  She smiled and asked him what he was feeling.  He said that it felt like his muscles were untwisting.  She responded that she was feeling the same thing.  After just a couple of minutes he looked over at me and told me that his pain was at a 1.  For the first time since the surgery.  And that he wanted to sleep.  For the first time since the surgery.  (Narcotics make Parker nervous and antsy. . . not sleepy.)  He drifted off to sleep and she sat and touched his legs until they were calm.

After that first experience Parker was a believer and asked me to call her when things got rough.  I think it has made all the difference in his healing because it relieved his pain and helped him sleep.  He also said that he felt stronger afterwards- which was evident in his movements.  When he got up after that first treatment, he nearly sprung off the couch.

All I can say is that this therapy is wonderful- as long as you have a healer!  Give it a try.

http://www.upledger.com/

Essential Oils and Knee Surgery

Parker had knee surgery three weeks ago and it was an extensive surgery- complete with scraped cartilage, a new tendon made out of his hamstring, and his tibia broken and screwed together.  This boy of mine HATES taking medicine. . .especially anything that blurs his mind.  Since this is not our first rodeo on the knee surgery front (he had one last November for a totally different problem) I decided to look for some alternate therapies. I have not been a proponent of Essential Oils, but I figured that it couldn’t hurt.  I bought the following oils from Spark Naturals and made up the recipe after a bit of research.

5 drops Cypress (regulates blood flow, calms)

5 drops Birch (relieves pain in muscles, bones, and joints, promotes bone repair)

5 drops White Fir (relaxes muscles, aids natural defenses, anti-inflammatory)

3 drops Lemongrass (relieves tension, promotes ligament health)

10 drops Wintergreen (relieves pain and spasms)

1 teaspoon Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (skin healing properties, carrier oil)

I mixed these oils together and stored them in a small container.  It is pretty easy to make a batch because the Spark Natural bottles all have a dropper top, so I wasn’t worried about quantity.  At first I could only get to the boy’s foot, so I put it on both feet (the arch and under the toes) at least three times a day.  As the bandages shrunk, I got closer and closer to his knee until I was going right around the steri strips.  He said that it really helped with his pain and would sometimes ask me to put it on.  He was off the narcotics on day 5 which really surprised his doctor (who had prescribed 90 Percocets and 10 Oxicodones) and off Advil on day 10.

Now we are at day 21 and he still has some swelling, but not much pain.  He has three large scars and two smaller ones that I would like to minimize, so now I am trying something new- an EO balm that he can apply anytime.  Here’s the new recipe:

10 drops Tea Tree (skin healing properties)

15 drops Birch(bone growth)

15 drops Lavender (skin healing properties)

15 drops White Fir (anti-inflammatory)

30 drops Wintergreen (pain)

1 teaspoon (scant) Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (skin healing oils)

½ teaspoon beeswax (product hardener)

½ teaspoon cocoa butter (skin softening, product hardener)

This made enough to fill two chapstick-type containers.  The boy can apply it directly to the scars to promote healing and alleviate itching.  It is easy for him to keep with him and he even likes the smell!