Happy Halloween

Halloween this year was a blast! Ammon works with the priests in his ward and they were in charge of putting together a spook alley for their "Trunk-r-Treat" party the week before Halloween. It had an old western town theme. Ammon and I were in the last tent, the medics tent... He was a rail-worker who had had his leg severed in an accident. I was his crazy doctor.

As people came through I would hack at his leg with an axe and he was making all sorts of pain-filled sounds! His bishop, who was next to us in the tent, said it sounded like Ammon was having labor pains! Who knew he had hidden drama skills! It was pretty funny. The next day in church several kids were concerned about his leg and wanted to be sure he was ok!


We spent Halloween deer hunting in the Kiabab forest on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. This was a first for me, but tons of fun! We hiked and hiked then drove and drove through beautiful country looking for an elusive buck. We saw more the 80 deer - all does and fawns, until sunset the last night, when we saw one little buck. Then another, after dark, on the way to St. George to see Ammon's brother Darren and his family. Ammon's sister, Liz, picked up a pumpkin for us that Ammon carved and we put outside the cabin the night before Halloween.

We stayed with Darren and Suhui and their kids. It was great to meet more fabulous Talbots. I had heard about Suhui's amazing cooking skills and we sure ate well! Ribs, coconut souffle with homemade pineapple jam, fried rice... It was great. I especially enjoyed the little science experiments with the kids. Dallin did some research and learned how to light a dollar on fire without it burning. Of course we had to try it!

Happy Girl!

My favorite song for a long time has been Martina McBride's "Happy Girl." Lately I am the happiest girl! One month ago today I met Ammon Talbot and I can tell you October 2009, has been the best month of my life...so far!

I'll have to tell more about how we met and our first couple of dates in another post.

Just to follow up...

This is from the NIH website:

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., was officially sworn in on Monday, August 17, 2009 as the 16th director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Collins was nominated by President Barack Obama on July 8, and was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 7.

http://www.nih.gov/about/director/index.htm

Francis Collins nominated as NIH Director

This is pretty neat. Last week Obama, not that I am a huge fan, nominated Francis Collins, of whom I am a huge fan, as the director for the National Institute of Health. Francis Collins is viewed as one of the top scientists in the world... and is very outwardly Christian. He was a key player in the Human Genome Prject and he and his team found genes contributing to cystic fibrosis. In 2006, he wrote The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, a book in which he describes his process of becoming Christian. I've read part of it and am anxious now to read the rest.

I believe as does President Eyring's dad, Henry Eyring that "Science has rendered a service to religion. The scientific spirit is the essence of religion." When it really comes down to what is real and important and we get to sit in that great Celestial Sunday school class, science and religion will blend beautifully.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Announces-Intent-to-Nominate-Francis-Collins-as-NIH-Director/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Collins_(geneticist)

Tender merices, little moments, and some thoughts

This is a picture of a snowflake by Wilson Bentley. He spent his life perfecting techniques to take these pictures so the world could see the beauty of individual snowflakes. I think this quote by Aristotle fits it well.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."

I have this posted by my computer at home and in my classroom. It reminds me to be conscious of, to recognize and to enjoy and the beauty in life. Often the beauty is in nature, the smile of a caring friend, or a feeling of peace that fills a troubled heart. Elder Bednar called these tender mercies.

I think excellence and beauty are intertwined. A life of excellence is not always the most traveled or obvious path. I believe excellence to be in the soft voice of a mother who responds in love when frustration would have been her first reaction. It's in finding passion and being true to ones' self. It's in smiling when you want to complain. It's in praying when you want you to cry. It's working when you want to play and play that helps you forget work. It's hours and hours invested in learning a skill. It's loving when you want to be angry. It's sacrificing good for better. It's conscious choices to take the higher road.

I love these two photographs as well. these are by Ansel Adams, another pioneer photographer who worked to make the Lord' beautiful handywork accessible to all....

Happy Mother's Day Mom! Thank you for bringing beauty and excellence into my life my whole life.

My Little Tucker

This is my little dog, Tucker. He was born on February 23, 2007. Since I have had him for two years now I thought I would introduce him formally. My Suzie died while I was on my mission and I had missed having a dog since then. After much thinking, researching and looking, I bought Tuck in April 2007. He had a beautiful brindle brother and I couldn't decide between the two. Ultimately his personality was the decision maker.



The first time we took him hiking was to Flatiron. It was a warm day and his little paws weren't used to the heat. He ran from shadow to shadow. We'd pass him and then he'd run to the next shady spot. I think we may have carried him at the end. He loves hiking now and still runs for the shadows.

He and Asia, have been best friends from day 1. Even now he cries when she leaves. He is such a baby!

Escadilla summer 2007


Right after I got my new camera!


This is one of my favorites. It is last Christmas in Lakeside. Elsie loves Tucker and will let him, Asia and Deli (her dog) kiss her all over. She loves all animals for that matter. It was hilarious to watch her with this cat. She dragged it all over the place. I am not so sure the cat was too comfortable when she dragged Oliver over to Tucker. Brandon just about went and bought a cat after watching Elsie with this one.


Last summer was a rough one for Tucker. It started with little sores on his snout. They got worse and worse and new ones began to form on his neck, behind his ears, and in his arm pits. We also noticed a small, pencil eraser sized growth on his testes. I took him to Dr. Hunt at Homstead Animal Clinic in Mesa. He and his staff are great. They love Tucker. they take time to sit with us and be sure I really understand what is going on. Dr. Hunt suspected the sores to be allergy related and put Tucker on an antibiotic and the steriod, prednisone. He suggested changing his diet to an allergy formula... Who knew dog food could be so expensive! The sores improved but not the growth got bigger.

The next time we went in Dr. Hunt SRTONGLY recommended neutering him and doing a scrotal oblation to remove the growth entirely. He didn't think it was cancerous, but it would be better to be safe. Also, with his allergies he shouldn't be bred. This was tough for me. We had planned on breeding tucker and Asia. I called my coworker, Robin, who has dobermins Tucker's age. I felt better after atlking with her. We set the surgery date and as Robin said, it was more tramatic for me than for him. He was up and running in no time.

Tucker's didn't heal well and his sores came back with a vengence so we went back to Dr. Hunt. He said Tucker will probably have to be on some sort of steriod the rest of his life. Although we had tried before, it was time to put my science skills to the test. We switched his dog food back to a sweet potato and fish blend for allergies, gove him not table scraps (he hated this), and gave him baths at least weekly. He was back on predinsone and the antobiotic as well as an antifungal pill. The sores quickly healed and as they did we gradually cut back the steriod dosage and stopped the other meds as he ran out. I've noticed he is itchy after eating red meat--his favorite! Now I give him 5mg of prednisone every few days as needed and bath him often. I am careful about what human food I give him, but did switch back to the Costco brand (lamb instead of chicken) purely for financial reasons. He is doing very well... beter than the orange tree he pulled out of the ground a few weeks ago! Thanks Dr. Hunt and staff!

That's my baby!

FRIENDS

These are my darling friends Saundra and Lori. We like to watch chick flicks, laugh, eat buffalo wings, shop... and give Wayne a hard time. Lori is moving back to Texas this weekend and we are going to miss her. Saundra and I are praying she gets a job with Gilbert Public Schools and can stay to teach our kiddos about the Holocaust in her cute Texas accent with a little sass... ok, so a lot of sass!