Sacrament

In the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, there are various accounts of the Savior feeding multitudes of people with just a few loaves and fishes. Historically, I think I've focused on the miracle of this event, but I wanted to write about one symbolic aspect that occurred to me.

Yesterday in our ward Sacrament meeting, two Priests blessed and broke 16 pieces of bread into small pieces, which were passed by the Deacons to the congregation to partake of. Then they blessed 432 cups of water, which were offered to ward members. Every week, in services all over the world, this same ritual is repeated...offering members the chance to pause in their lives and reflect on their baptismal covenants, and re-commit themselves to following the Savior as best they can.

Like the miracle played out in the accounts of the few loaves and fishes, those 16 pieces of bread that are torn into pieces on our behalf, and those tiny cups of water poured in remembrance of His blood shed for us, enable us to experience a miracle in our own lives. As we partake of them, and draw closer to the Savior with our hearts, we invoke the power of His atonement on our behalf, our souls are purified and we are renewed. Those 16 pieces of bread and tiny cups of water feed the spirits of the nearly 400 saints in my ward on a weekly basis, enabling us to continue having His spirit with us and succeed in our efforts to be like Him.

I am grateful for the scriptures and the lessons they teach me. I'm grateful for the spiritual feast that the sacrament supplies us with every sabbath day. And I'm grateful for the sacrifice of my Savior for me.

Boo

Today most of my friends who blog have posted pics of their spooks. I'd planned to do so last night but I was tired. Here are Doc--who donned in his annual skeleton outfit with "Gross" hat (as in anatomy), Gator and his buddy are Obi-One and a Vampire, and Bunch is Mother Nature. Doc commented about how each of them picked a costume that is just an extension of themselves. Bunch is all about nature and beauty, Gator LOVES Star Wars, and Doc is, well, an anatomist. I wore black pants and my orange fleece...so bunch dubbed me a pumpkin. Good times.

Cubital Tunnel Syndrome

Since May I've had a problem with my right pinky & ring fingers. They've been numb and tingly for most of the time since this began, and it's gotten rather annoying. I finally talked to a hand surgeon who told me it's a problem called Cubital Tunnel Syndrome. The problem is triggered when the ulner nerve gets compressed. The best solution is to stop compressing it. Alternatively surgery is an option. I am satisfied with the amount of time I've spent in the hospital for this year, so I'm hoping to avoid that by doing what I can to keep my arm straight. Bending it more than 30 degrees can agrivate the ulnar nerve. I've become acutely aware of how much i end up bending my elbow this week as I've tried to keep it straight. The activities that comprise most of my day include:

• talking on the phone
• reading books
• playing piano
• typing on the computer
  
• eating
• sleeping all curled up like a baby or with my arms over my head.
  

These things result in the numbness and tingling sensation coming on full-force. I miss the sleeping position most of all. I intend to give the non-surgical route a thorough try (keep it straight as much of the time as I can and 2 weeks of high doses of ibuprofen per the surgeon's suggestion) to reduce swelling and inflammation, and really hope it works. I've noticed difficulty doing things I've never struggled to do before, such as taking lids off bottles/jars. I don't feel old enough to not be able to open jars and bottles!

I realize this is a boring post. Sorry about that, just something I felt like noting.

Love

Today while driving through a neighborhood nearby, I saw this cute older couple:

















They were slow, holding hands, and shuffling along together, just out on a little walk. Simply seeing them made me happy! I kept driving, rounded the corner, but then stopped and went back. I was a block away, and maxed out the zoom to get the picture so it's fuzzy, but that's fine with me. I just wanted document the moment, to celebrate love that lasts for years, and to give an anonymous tribute to couples who are still sweethearts in their golden years. Here's to these two! You are Couple of the Day today! Thanks for warming my heart. ♥

I may be one of the last people in the country to become aware of the show American Idol. That I know anything about it now is entirely the fault of Pandora.com and YouTube. That darn Pandora and YouTube! I may not watch tv, but a body can seriously wile away the hours watching vids on YouTube.

Anyway, Pandora.com introduces me to all these songs that I've never heard before, and sometimes I want to hear them again, so I'll search YouTube to see if anyone has put it up there.

So there I was, blithely listening along when suddenly I heard this song that I've loved my whole life, but I liked this new version SO MUCH BETTER than the original. I had to find out about the artist...which is a simple matter of link-clicking with Pandora. And there he was, some kid named Clay Aiken. Wikipedia told me all I needed to know about Clay. He's living the American Dream...small-town kid tries out for a big, once-in-a-lifetime-competition, and though he looked like an unlikely candidate, he won the hearts of the country and has had a total life-transformation. And no wonder--if you hear the big voice that comes out of this guy, it blows you away. He seems to be a really nice person of substance too; hasn't let fame and fortune go to his head. I'm sure part of the reason I'm fascinated is because there are a lot of aspects about his (pre-fame and fortune) life that I can relate to.

Youtube supplied me with loads of Aiken vids, and I've become a fan. Why at my age, for the first time, am I developing fan-ness? I mean, first Josh, now Clay. I've never been a fan before--with the possible exception of Donny Osmond and his purple socks when I was a kid (only I was "a little bit classical")

Here's the song that hooked me in the first place. I hope you enjoy this new rendition of the old classic by Dolly Parton. And though it does nothing for him, and reminds him of bad Woolworth's elevator music, I must dedicate it to Doc. Thanks for comin' again!

Time for a tribute

Four weeks ago I flew to Washington DC for a quick overnight trip to attend a baby shower for a very dear friend.

I arrived Saturday evening, and planned to take the red-eye home Sunday night. But my body had other plans. About 6 hours after I arrived, I got very sick. I ended up in the hospital for 5 days, had surgery to remove my gall bladder which had gotten extremely enlarged and infected and caused so much pain, for so long, that my two pain-relief-free childbirths seemed like a walk in the park comparatively. That's saying a lot.

I ended up being gone 11 days total. I am indebted to quite a few people for their care and sacrifice for me...especially Suzie and Rob, Bonnie, Ann, and Karleen. It was during this time that their true identities as guardian angels was revealed.

It is times like these that impress upon me just how blessed my life is. I have a disproportionate number of amazing friends. They enrich, support and bless my life in countless ways. I can't fathom how vastly different this life of mine would be without these amazing people. So here I offer a small tribute to the amazing friends who have brought such joy and goodness to me. I believe you know how much I love you, and there is simply not much more that I can say about that! Thank you! ♥
Here is an "edible arrangement" that a darling friend sent me after my surgery. I've never received anything so luscious and unexpected. It was delicious and we all enjoyed it. Thank you Karleen! You are the best! ♥

So who do I look most like?

There is an entertaining site that you can upload a photo to, and it will scan your face and tell you who your celebrity look-alikes are. I previously tried it with a whole bunch of photos...but decided that it was overkill, so I deleted them and decided to just keep this one. A diverting waste of time ♥

For Baby Zeth

Set to the song: "Lullabye for a Stormy Night" by Vienna Teng

Remember When It Rained

I finally managed to get the last song off my camera...it somehow got corrupted and wouldn't download to my computer, but I could watch the video on the camera itself. So whilst at my sister's house, on a whim I tried to download it to her computer, and it worked! Yay! So, here you go Groban fans! Remember When It Rained, performed live in concert.

A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do...

...so i need to go visit my darling sister, who happens to live on a highly popular tropical island chain in the middle of the pacific ocean. She is about to become a momma again.

Tomorrow, a wonderful young woman on a different, yet equally beautiful island nearby, will be induced and give birth to a baby boy (at least we've been told it's a boy). Then she will do one of the most compassionate things any woman could ever do in this mortal life: and give that baby to my sister's family to keep forever and ever. Whenever there's a family who desperately wants to have children, but for any number of reasons can't, it is women like this one who are literally saviors in their lives, providing something they can't do for themselves.

Naturally, my sweet sister would love it if I could be there for this event. I was there almost 5 years ago when they became parents. Now the happy trio and I will fly over and then the 5 of us will take this perfect little boy home with us.

So I've got to dash to the airport and jumpseat my way there. I'll be off till next week, but maybe I'll be able to update remotely. I'm amazed this is happening...she's waited SO long! ♥