I am a great-aunt again.

I am a great-aunt on the Pitts side of the family! Isn't that good news? Of course, that happened to me earlier when Charlotte and Cydney became grandmothers. But this is the first grandchild for Laurel. They are excited and so are the rest of us. 
Gus is the proud father, Janessa is the proud mother, and Laurel and Tom are the proud grandparents.

Little Garrett Gus Marinos was born on Dec. 18 at 8:47 p.m. He weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces and was 21 and one-half inches long.

Laurel said he has light brown hair, with a touch of red and has his mother's mouth. 
I saved the birthday card she sent me to open on my birthday. Inside the card was the good news!

Al Pitts wrote: I conclude then, that your birthday is December 29, 1941.


Love you 
al 


Myrna wrote: Nope. My birthday is December 24, 1940. You should conclude that my birthday is on December 24, 1940. I tried to see how I had mislead you but failed. Anyway, I am now 68 as of this
last birthday. Love, M 


Al wrote: Your wisdom is beyond my years, simply you are also beyond my years.
You're older than me, hahaha 

Todd Thank You

Todd wrote: Thank you for the Christmas cash. It will come in handy. I want to buy some add-ons for my motorbike. You will need to see it some day. Merry Christmas. I hope you liked your birthday present and other items.
Love,
T


Myrna wrote: We hope to come and visit soon and see the motorbike in person. Perhaps we could come on our way to or from Braden's graduation.

I am really pleased with the necklace. I have wanted one for some time but have not wanted to pay the price. So thank you.

Dad and I have been looking at mills because ours does not work anymore. Julie has the style you gave us so it is proved (meaning we know it works). Thank you for that also.

I actually received your addition to my birthday gift on my birthday! I had waited to open the gifts from all of you until the family who were coming for dinner all arrived. I had finished and we were setting the table for dinner when there came a knock on the door. The UPS worker had your package to me and I opened it right then. I was happy to have a garden tool apron that I can carry on my person. Dad is always teasing me that I have to locate the tools, and that it takes an hour, before I can begin any project outside. Now, he says, I have an apron and, if I remember to put it on the hook he just made for it in the garage, I will always have them handy.

Thank you.

Myrna wrote: We spent a quiet day alone, Dad and I, on Christmas. You can see more about it on the family blog site.

Did the kids like the books? I am sorry there is not an adult one. Maybe I can send two next year.

Love, M


Todd wrote: The kids loved the books. They all read them as soon as they were opened and Hailey had us read them to her. They commented that Grandma T always gets the best books. Everyone had an enjoyable time, I think. I am glad you are happy with your presents. It is hard to know what to get the people who have it all.

Myrna wrote: I am glad that the books were loved. My favorite parts of Christmas, next to family and visiting, was finding a quiet corner to read my Christmas book. As for having everything--we do. We have family and love and the gospel. As for the rest, well, I do want a new sewing machine. Dad gave me money for that. Now all I have to find is one I like. Love, M

Todd wrote: I forgot to tell you that Hailey’s card didn’t have any money in it and Tyler had $5 too much.  We’re not worried about it.

It would be nice to have you here after Braden’s graduation.  We have been here four years by then and you would have only made it once.  Time for a trip.

Myrna: The money is on the way. Thanks for letting me know. Love, M

Todd: We’re not worried about it.  Just wanted you to know in case you have misplaced some money.  Thank you.

Myrna: I did have $20 left and worried about why. Now I know. I have mailed the money to Hailey today. Love, M

Aunt Thelma

Myrna wrote: I suppose you all know that Aunt Thelma also volunteered at a home for those with Alzheimer's, dementia and other age-related medical problems. I suppose you know that two of Dad's friends, Lloyd Sundquist and Robert Jarrett, both have Alzheimer's. Lloyd loves LHT. He volunteers to do any assignment where he can have LHT for his companion. He tells dad that he can feel himself slipping a bit but he is still in the Sunday School Presidency. Robert is Dad's home teaching companion. He still remembers the past pretty well but he can't help teach the lesson but sometimes he prays. If I ever develop the disease and get really bad, I want to be put in a home where they offer specialized help and, as Melanie does, interesting projects for the patients. And as Dad says, I will have the opportunity to make new friends every day (the same ones--I just won't remember them from the day before).
Love, M

Melanie wrote: The interesting thing with the dementia disease is that past and present are the same in the patient's mind. Thus, when seeing your children, you start believing that they are your parents. It makes sense to me. In the end, those whom we cared for, end up caring for us. Part of that eternal round, I suppose....


Myrna wrote: Now you know why Rachel doesn't want to get old. She just wants to stay little forever and live with her mom and dad at her home. But I also do want to live in my home forever--this home. There are a lot of people who are blessed enough to be able to do that. I would like to be among them. 
----

Melanie Works With Dementia Patients

 I have been working with Alzheimer's and dementia patients for a little while now. It has been a rewarding and yet, sad experience. It is hard for me to see these strong willed people dwindle. I have had some amazing spiritual moments with them. They are all mothers, sisters, daughters, fathers, brothers, husbands. They have all been loved. Some more than others. When I read to them and look into their eyes, my spirit can feel their gratitude, even if they can't find the words to tell me. Their spirits are strong and beautiful. They hold my hand. They cry. They are afraid. Some of them have warm days, where the sun shines and all seems well. We love those days, even when our minds are healthy.  I have had testified to me that the atonement will work for them. Their spirits know who they are, even if their bodies don't. It has been a very rewarding experience for me.

There is so much new information about dementia and Alzheimer's. There are so many wonderful programs to help individuals and families. No longer do we put the older people behind closed doors. We encourage the young to visit. We encourage the patients to try to remember the things from their past that hold warm memories. We all have good memories. We read to them stories that they would have heard when they were younger. They might not remember the stories right away, but they will remember the feelings. We play games with them. Some things you never forget: how to catch a ball, how to kick a ball. (Your motor skills work in your behalf: when something is coming toward you, you push it away.) We do wheel chair aerobics. We play bowling, sing songs (sometimes as with a two year old, the same song over and over), and we even make crafts.

I never want to lose control over my faculties, but I know that Heavenly Father loves me and that Christ's atonement will protect me, even if I can't recall how to make my bed or tie my shoes.

When we sang the true carols of Christmas, all those who could speak, testified of their love of God and the belief of the ministering of angels, with tears in their eyes. None of them are LDS, just good God loving people.

Save the brain!

Myrna: But there is a difference between senile dementia and Alzheimers. In my family, it has been senile dementia that has bothered people. My great-grandmother (Pritchett) and my grandmother (Pitts) both had senile dementia. It was caused, in both cases, by strokes. I think that is what caused Uncle Max's problem, as well, though I am not certain. The effects are so much the same--forgetfulness, lack of patience, etc. So what do your doctors say is the cause of Alzheimer's? Isn't it, though the effects are the same, caused more by genetics? What do they do for Alzheimer's? I thought there were new medications they could give to reduce the problems. Love, M

Melanie: At the place where I work, the senile dementia patients have been years without exercise and without good health. The doctors there tell us all the time to stay active and reduce the fat in our diets, it will help to have healthy brains in future years.

 http://www.alzinfo.org/alzheimers-research-prevention.asp
Fisher Center For Alzheimer's Research Foundation
Can taking cholesterol-lowering drugs prevent Alzheimer's disease? Scientific evidence is growing for a link between the use of a class of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins and reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease. Statins, which are prescribed to millions of Americans for lowering blood levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol - the "bad" cholesterol - have been the subject of intense focus in Alzheimer's research ever since a series of epidemiologic studies found that people who took them have a lower incidence of Alzheimer's.Here's what some of the latest studies have found: Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine found that people taking statins reduced their risk of developing Alzheimer's by 29 percent. The study, the largest to date on this subject, tracked more than 2,300 participants and included African-Americans. Alzheimer's incidence was reduced equally in both whites and African-Americans. A team at St. George's Hospital Medical School in London found that using statins to reduce cholesterol levels dramatically lowered the production of beta amyloid in laboratory experiments. Beta amyloid is a protein that abnormally accumulates in the brain in Alzheimer's disease. The group has also shown that raising cholesterol levels increases beta amyloid production. A Tokyo-based research group found similar results, and identified a specific pathway through which statins may exert their effect on beta amyloid. Scientists at Georgetown University found that high cholesterol levels increase the rate at which beta amyloid breaks off from its "parent" protein and accumulates into the plaques found in Alzheimer's disease. They also showed that high cholesterol increases the production of another protein, called APOE, which contributes to nerve cell toxicity when overproduced. Other scientists are looking at the biochemical effects statins have within the brain. A team at the University of South Florida Health Sciences Center discovered that statins were able to block the toxic effects beta amyloid has on nerve cells, and seemed to act through an anti-inflammatory action. Inflammatory processes are thought to contribute to Alzheimer's in ways that are not completely understood.A large, prospective clinical trial is currently underway to try to determine conclusively if statins can prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

A Favor

We got the package today. We would have been fine to wait until Thursday. We got 2 books, 2 dvds and a cd and ornaments. There was also another dvd size package labeled "Tim and Myrna, love Eva." We'll bring that back down.

 Thank you very much.


Myrna wrote: Kimberly, please open Eva's gift and tell me what is inside, please. She gets nervous if I don't talk to her about it soon after Christmas. She will call and ask me if I got it. I would like to say that I had and thank her for whatever it is.
Love, M


Kimberly wrote: A DVD titled "The Christmas Card"

It looks really good, here's a synopsis from Amazon.com. I would watch it.  :)

Product Description: Once in a while, a movie comes along that reminds us how powerful love can be. In the midst of war in Afghanistan, Captain Cody Cullen (John Newton, "Desperate Housewives") is touched by lovely card sent by Faith Spelman (Alice Evans, "The Chris Isaak Show") from the small picturesque town of Nevada City, California. As months pass, the card never leaves his side, giving him the strength to survive and setting him on a mission to find her. The Christmas Card has received massive critical acclaim and audiences are raving. Now for the first time on DVD, Emmy-nominated (TBD) The Christmas Card is available with great bonus features and is the perfect gift for this holiday season!


Myrna wrote, Thank you very much, Kimberly. You have my permission to watch it before you bring it down. It does sound good, doesn't it? Love, M